A review of empirical evidence that examines the effectiveness of harvest regulation evaluations in freshwater systems: A systematic, standardized collaborative approach

Fisheries Magazine
By: , and 

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Abstract

Harvest regulations are important tools that fisheries professionals use to impact fish abundance, alter population size structure, and improve fishing opportunities. Fisheries professionals often assume that specialized harvest regulations will have specific effects on target fish populations, but these predictions are not always realized because theory and practice do not always match (literature indicates that predictions are not met in about half of the cases). To identify trends that can improve the future success of harvest regulations, we reviewed a representative sample of harvest regulation evaluations for inland sport fish (i.e., 62 evaluations from 41 studies). Our review revealed gaps related to quantitative predictions, evaluation duration, statistical design, researcher–manager collaboration, and data standardization. Fisheries professionals can benefit from shared and thoughtful data collection designs and protocol standardizations. These designs can transform assessment sampling into empirical regulation evaluations that provide generality across locations and time periods with similar effort and cost.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title A review of empirical evidence that examines the effectiveness of harvest regulation evaluations in freshwater systems: A systematic, standardized collaborative approach
Series title Fisheries Magazine
DOI 10.1002/fsh.10808
Volume 47
Issue 10
Year Published 2022
Language English
Publisher American Fisheries Society
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Atlanta
Description 12 p.
First page 423
Last page 434
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