Contributions of Shore-Based Recreational Fishing to Individual and Community Wellbeing

Abstract: In many coastal areas shore-based fishing trips exceed boat-based trips, yet recreational fishing policy attention often disproportionately focuses on boat-based activities. In this talk we highlight the contributions of shore-based marine recreational fishing to individual and community wellbeing, discuss ways to assess shore-based fishing activities, and make recommendations for incorporating findings into management measures. We draw on our experience researching shore-based fishing in the Tampa Bay region of Florida, USA. Our work illustrates that individual fishers often derive key benefits from shore-based fishing such as improved mental health, improved quality and quantity of social connections, and increased access to fresh protein. Further, shore-based fishing locations often function as important “third places” (not home and not work) in coastal communities, where diverse groups of people have the opportunity to interact. In these spaces, community wellbeing is enhanced as regulatory, environmental, and fishing knowledge is shared amongst fishers, social connections beyond existing networks are made, and care for places and species is increased. Simultaneously, challenges like ethnic and gender prejudices, environmental degradation, and disinvestment by policymakers in coastal public spaces threatens the full realization of these individual and community benefits. We suggest that the contributions of shore-based fishing to wellbeing are important enough to warrant further attention. In particular, we recommend that fisheries managers: (1) make greater efforts to assess and value the set of individual and community benefits of shore-based fishing in their particular geographic area; (2) work with local and regional planning agencies to preserve the often-dwindling access to fishing spaces in coastal areas that continue to develop rapidly around the globe; and (3) better incorporate shore-based fishers, particularly those who may be food insecure, as key stakeholders in the overall ecological health of nearshore fisheries.