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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Conserv. Sci.
Sec. Conservation Social Sciences
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2024.1446550

Untangling the impact of live baitfish restrictions on recreational fishing participation in the United States

Provisionally accepted
Victoria DeRooy Victoria DeRooy *Amanda Hansen Amanda Hansen
  • Upstream Aquatic Institute, Dover, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In recent decades, many jurisdictions have established regulations governing the use of live baitfish in recreational fishing. Live baitfish can originate from either aquaculture farms or wild harvest. Live bait regulations are usually motivated by conservation concerns, such as the role that live baitfish play in the spread of invasive species and aquatic diseases. One barrier that may prevent policy regulation of live baitfish is the fear among policymakers that limiting the use of live baitfish could impact the general public's interest in fishing. However, conservation policy is hindered by the fact that there is very little research on this concern. In this study, we conduct a before-after control-intervention (BACI) analysis to test whether live baitfish regulations in the United States are followed by changes in recreational fishing. Using data from the 1960s to the present day, we analyze four states that have implemented live baitfish restrictions: Maine, New York, Vermont and Colorado. We find that live baitfish restrictions do not cause a decline in the public's participation in fishing. Our results can empower policymakers to craft evidence-based regulations on the use of live baitfish for conservation purposes while remaining confident that such policies are not likely to cause any unintended consequences on the recreational fishing community.

    Keywords: baitfish farming, fathead minnow, golden shiner, Impact analysis, recreational fishing, Fisheries Management

    Received: 10 Jun 2024; Accepted: 15 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 DeRooy and Hansen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Victoria DeRooy, Upstream Aquatic Institute, Dover, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.