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ABSTRACT
The state of knowledge on the science and management of freshwater recreational fisheries is reviewed, with the objective of integrating insights from disparate fields such as fisheries science, environmental complexity theory, common-pool-resource theory, and resilience theory. First, freshwater recreational fisheries are characterized as complex adaptive social-ecological systems (SESs). Subsequently, two interrelated frameworks, drawing on the Ostrom framework for the analysis of SESs and adaptive management as key foundations, are presented. These frameworks are useful to structure the complexity and apprehend the various feedbacks and links inherent in any particular recreational fisheries system. Moreover, the frameworks help to identify operational management strategies in the face of substantial social-ecological uncertainty. It is concluded that to understand and manage freshwater recreational fisheries as complex adaptive SESs, a sustained shift from disciplinary to inter- and sometimes transdisciplinary research as well as a focus on flexible, adaptive and generally enabling rather than command-and-control type governance and management are needed. Understanding and managing recreational fisheries as complex adaptive SESs will benefit from an increasing focus on (i) managing social-ecological feedbacks and processes, (ii) managing critical slow variables that either drive the system or maintain it in potentially undesirable states, and (iii) managing and maintaining social and ecological diversity. It is hoped that the frameworks presented in this article may guide future interdisciplinary inquiry to manage for sustainability by building resilience.
Acknowledgments
Author contributions: conceived the study: RA; developed the frameworks: RA, KD, LMH, BMJ, CW; critically discussed, applied and refined the frameworks: RA; JA, BB, KD, MD, MF, WH, LMH, BMJ, FDJ, TK, CM, JRP, CR, HW, CW; provided case study applications: KD, MF, DH, LMH, FDJ, SM, TP, JRP, CR, HW; wrote the article: RA, with significant inputs from JRP, KD, MF, LMH, FDJ, SM, JRP, TR, CW. The thoughts presented in this article developed over the course of two young investigator grants to RA (Adaptfish project, 2006-2009 funded by the Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Community within the Pact for Innovation and Research, www.besatz-fisch.de/adaptfish to RA and CW, Besatzfisch project, 2009-2014, funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research in the Program for Social-Ecological Research to RA, grant no. 01UU0907, www.besatzfisch.de). Multiple students, postdocs, co-authors and colleagues not listed on this article are cordially thanked for sharing their insights over the years. Aspects of the frameworks presented here were discussed in a workshop on “Managing recreational fisheries as complex social-ecological adaptive systems” funded by SESYNC and the National Science Foundation in Annapolis, USA. Participants (Stephen Carpenter, Eli Fenichel, Joshua Abbott, Annika Sandström, James Watson, Mike Manfredo, Emma Fuller) and the two co-organizers Olaf Jensen and Mike Wilberg are thanked for their contributions that helped sharpen this article. Moreover, we thank participants of a workshop organized by Hillary Ward in Cedar Key, Florida, USA (Mike Allen, Nick Cole, Ed Camp, Bryan Matthias, Kyle Wilson) for their contributions to shed light on the behavioural dimensions of recreational fisheries. RA also acknowledges discussions with Maja Schlüter, Eva-Maria Cyrus, Steven Cooke, Kai Lorenzen, Steven Gray, Jochen Hinkel and Brett van Poorten over multiple occasions and over multiple years. Bernard Chéret provided technical help during manuscript preparation, and reviewers provided excellent feedback. The first version of this article was written during a research stay at IMEDEA in Mallorca. RA thanks the director Beatriz Morales-Nin and JA for hospitality and support, and Ina Wahnsiedler for taking over child care obligations and freeing time for writing and reflection. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), particularly Raymon van Anrooy, is thanked for supporting the work by RA and BMJ on FAO (Citation2012). KD is particularly appreciative of Konrad Hagedorn, Volker Beckmann and other colleagues from the Division of Resource Economics at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin for excellent input leading toward the development and applications of analytical frameworks to study SESs from the perspective of institutional economics. Financial support to MD was provided by the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the EFF-program of the EU.