Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T12:36:29.053Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Recreational fishers' attitudes towards the 2004 rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2009

STEPHEN G. SUTTON  and
RENAE C. TOBIN
STEPHEN G. SUTTON*
Affiliation:
Fishing and Fisheries Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia4811
RENAE C. TOBIN
Affiliation:
Fishing and Fisheries Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia4811
*
*Correspondence: e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +61 7 4781 5510 Fax: +61 7 4781 4099
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

With the marine environment under increasing threat from multiple sources, the ability of managers to generate support from stakeholders will be vital for the success of conservation initiatives. In 2004, a new zoning plan for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park increased no-take areas from 4.5% to 33% of the total Park area. The aims of this study were to measure recreational fishers' level of support for the plan and understand how they form attitudes towards conservation initiatives in the Park. A survey of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park recreational fishers conducted three years after implementation of the new zoning plan revealed that 68% of fishers believed that, in general, rezoning the Marine Park was a good idea, whereas 57% supported the actual zoning plan that was implemented. A majority of fishers believed that rezoning the Marine Park was necessary, that the new zoning plan had high conservation value, and that the plan had little impact on their recreational fishing activity. However, most fishers had low to moderate satisfaction with the programme used to consult the public throughout the rezoning process. Logistic regression models revealed a strong relationship between level of support for the plan and fishers' perceptions about the necessity of the plan and its conservation value, the adequacy of the consultation process, and the impact of the plan on their fishing activity. Results indicate that recreational fishers can be strong supporters of conservation initiatives in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park if these initiatives are consistent with their values, and if efforts are made to engage them in the decision making process. These results will enhance the ability of managers to generate support from the recreational fishing community for conservation initiatives in marine environments.

Keywords

attitudesGreat Barrier Reefrecreational fishingzoning
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 245 - 252
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arlinghaus, R. (2006) Overcoming human obstacles to conservation of recreational fishery resources, with emphasis on Europe. Environmental Conservation 33: 46–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CapReef (2009) A community monitoring program in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Queensland: InfoFish [www document]. URL http://www.info-fish.net/documents.asp?section=capreefGoogle Scholar
Cocklin, C., Craw, M. & McAuley, I. (1998) Marine reserves in New Zealand: use rights, public attitudes, and social impacts. Coastal Management 26: 213–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craik, W. (1992) The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: its establishment, development and current status. Marine Pollution Bulletin 25: 5–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daigle, C.P., Loomis, D.K & Ditton, R.B. (1996) Procedural justice in fishery resource allocations. Fisheries 21 (11): 18–23.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Day, J., Tanzer, J., Chadwick, V., Fernandes, L. & Jago, B. (2007) The relative roles of science, public participation, and political support in rezoning the Great Barrier Reef. In: First International Marine Protected Areas Congress Conference Proceedings, ed. Day, J., Senior, J., Monk, S. & Neal, N., pp. 559–661. Geelong, Australia: IMPAC1 2005.Google Scholar
Fernandes, L. & 27 others (2005) Establishing representative no-take areas in the Great Barrier Reef: large scale implementation of theory on marine protected areas. Conservation Biology 19: 1733–1744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flood, S. & Cocklin, C. (1992) The Socio-economic Implications of Establishing Marine Reserves. Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation.Google Scholar
GBRMPA (2003) Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003 [www document]. URL http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/10591/Zoning_Plan.pdfGoogle Scholar
Gentner, B. & Sutton, S.G. (2008) Substitutability in recreational fishing. In: Challenges in Recreational Fisheries, ed. Aas, O., pp. 150–169. Oxford, UK: Global Blackwell Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granek, E., Madin, E., Brown, M., Figueira, W., Cameron, D., Hogan, Z., Kristianson, G., de Villiers, P., Williams, J., Post, J., Zahn, S. & Arlinghaus, R. (2008) Engaging recreational fishers in management and conservation: global case studies. Conservation Biology 22: 1125–1134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Helvey, M. (2004) Seeking consensus on designing marine protected areas: keeping the fishing community engaged. Coastal Management 32: 173–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jago, B., Day, J., Fernandes, L., Thompson, L., Hall, J., Sampson, K., Cameron, D., Russell, M. & Lowe, D. (2007) Involving the community early. The variable role that communities can play in MPA management: experiences and lessons learned on the Great Barrier Reef. In: First International Marine Protected Areas Congress Conference Proceedings, ed. Day, J., Senior, J., Monk, S. & Neal, N., pp. 353–355. Geelong, Australia: IMPAC1 2005.Google Scholar
Klein, C.B., Chan, A., Kircher, L., Cundiff, A., Gardner, N., Hrovat, Y., Scholz, A., Kendall, B. & Airame, S. (2008) Striking a balance between biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic variability in the design of marine protected areas. Conservation Biology 22: 691–700.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McInnes, K.L. (2006) 2004 Biennial Recreational Fishing Telephone Survey of Queensland Residents. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.Google Scholar
Salant, P. & Dillman, D.A. (1994) How to Conduct Your Own Survey. New York, NY, USA: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Salz, R.J & Loomis, D.K. (2004) Saltwater anglers’ attitudes towards marine protected areas. Fisheries 29 (6): 10–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suman, D., Shivlani, M. & Milon, J. (1999) Perceptions and attitudes regarding marine reserves: a comparison of stakeholder groups in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Ocean and Coastal Management 42: 1019–1040.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutton, S.G. (2006 a) An assessment of the social characteristics of Queensland's recreational fishers. CRC Reef Research Centre Technical Report 65. CRC Reef Research Centre, Townsville, Australia.Google Scholar
Sutton, S.G. (2006 b) Understanding recreational fishers’ participation in public consultation programs. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 11: 329–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutton, S.G. (2008) Recreational fishers perceptions about the costs and benefits of the 2004 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning plan. Report to the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility, Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns, Australia.Google Scholar
Teh-White, K., Houston, S., Baxter, C., Levine, J. & White, P. (2004) Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority: Enhanced Community Partnerships. Melbourne, Australia: Futureye Pty. Ltd.Google Scholar
Wolfenden, J., Cram, F. & Kirkwood, B. (1994) Marine reserves in New Zealand: a survey of community reactions. Ocean and Coastal Management 25: 31–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar