AUTHOR=Jalali Ali , Bell Justin D. , Gorfine Harry K. , Conron Simon , Giri Khageswor 

TITLE=Angling to Reach a Destination to Fish—Exploring the Land and Water Travel Dynamics of Recreational Fishers in Port Phillip Bay, Australia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.793074

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2021.793074

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=Recreational fishing is a popular pastime and a multibillion dollar industry in Australia, playing a key economic role, especially in regional areas. In the state of Victoria, Port Phillip Bay (PPB), bordered by Melbourne and its suburbs, is the largest recreational marine fishery in the state. At present, little is known about the spatial and temporal dimensions of angler travel from origins to destinations, and the applicability of such spatial knowledge in fisheries management. To address this lack of information we assessed spatiotemporal dynamics and patterns in anglers’ trips, based upon travel distances on water and land to acquire insight into the spatial ranges over which anglers residing in various locations travel to fishing destinations in the environs of PPB. Data for each angler per fishing trip, from 6035 boat-based creel surveys, collected at 20 boat ramps in PPB during a 10-year period from 2010 to 2019, were analysed by applying geospatial modelling. Differences were observed in both land and water travel distance by region and popular target species, with anglers who launched from Bellarine region travelling further on land, and those who targeted snapper travelling further on water. It was also evident that most anglers resided within close proximity of PPB, often less than 50 km, although some anglers travelled long distances across the state to access fishing locations, particularly when targeting snapper. This work further highlights the importance of spatially explicit approaches to inform fisheries management by identifying users across different landscape and seascape scales, and out-of-region or state trips, which may especially impact coastal communities and benefit local businesses.