Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

In October 1996, investigators of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission confirmed the existence of a major black market operation dealing in protected wildlife in South Florida. The suspects conducting this operation were dependent on local poachers to supply illegally taken game. The animals purchased by the suspects were resold at highly inflated prices to outlets in Florida and New York. Covert investigators, in an operation dubbed Operation Brooklyn, infiltrated the enterprise and identified the suppliers and retail buyers of wildlife. The suspects came to trust the investigators so much that investigators accompanied the suspects in a business trip to New York to sell Florida wildlife. After 14 months of investigation, Operation Brooklyn was brought to closure with the arrests of 9 suspects on 40 charges: 14 felonies and 26 misdemeanors.

Past research has shown that feelings of shame and embarrassment act as deterrents to criminal activity such as drunk driving. This research compares responses of 2 groups of hunters to questions about shame, embarrassment, the certainty of getting caught in a wildlife violation, and the impact of legal sanctions for wildlife violations. Oklahoma hunters who reported they would experience high levels of shame and embarrassment if they committed a hunting violation said they would be less likely to commit a hunting violation in the future (P < 0.01). There was no significant relationship between any of 5 traditional legal sanctions and hunters' likelihood of committing a future violation.

Trace metal analysis of commercially produced broadheads was conducted to determine the background level of copper and lead contained on the surface of the broadhead following manufacturing. The level of copper and lead from these broadheads was then compared to known copper and lead values from white-tailed deer to determine if inserting a broadhead into the wound tract would influence the quantitative analysis of the wound tract. Although inserting a broadhead into a firearm wound orifice post-mortem changes the morphological appearance of the wound orifice, it does not influence the analysis of the wound tract when analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Firearm wounds can be differentiated from arrow wounds quantitatively, using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry, without concern of broadhead interference affecting the results.

Blood “in flight” produces bloodstains in a predictable, consistent, and reproducible manner. At crime scenes investigators or analysts able to read bloodstains can with a high degree of certainty, reconstruct those forceful actions which caused the stain. Thus, those in specialized investigations trained in bloodstain pattern analysis can deduce the particulars of a crime perpetrated against humans or wildlife. Death investigators around the world—whether homicide detectives, law enforcement officers evaluating hunting accidents, or game wardens investigating wildlife crimes—may enhance the probability for success if they employ the established forensic discipline of bloodstain pattern analysis. Currently, only elite investigators drawing on every available means to crack a case implement this forensic discipline.

Traditionally family and/or friends spent time together in the outdoors fishing. It was healthy, provided fine table fare, and provided a catalyst for communication. Good conservationists emerged from their understanding of the natural world, and anglers have been leaders. Anglers paid, and continued to pay, for conservation through license fees and excise taxes. The natural affinity between fishing and the traditional family experience provided a steady pool of new angling recruits. No marketing was required. Today the trend is quite different from that traditional experience. Fishing participation growth has ceased. Anglers and professional fisheries managers must continue investing time, money, and energy in aquatic resource conservation. We must market and promote fishing within the culture of our citizenry.

This paper has 3 major sections. The first is an overview of marketing. The second section focuses on some key finding on fishing participation and anglers' attitudes toward fishing, while the third section presents the implications of this research to marketing and promoting fishing. Marketing is a deliberate and orderly step-by-step process that begins with people (markets) and ends with products, services, programs, and strategies. Several major variables related to fishing participation are explored, including lack of time and competing interests, angler demographics, single-parent households and participation by gender. The paper concludes with specific recommendations to promote fishing and increase fishing participation.

Marketing yesterday involved delivering products to customers. Today the world is changing rapidly and the way we market to consumers has changed dramatically as well. Now, we sell fun. Zebco and Quantum have begun marketing fishing as fun in order to compete with the many choices available for spending leisure time and money. Market survey information suggest the Baby Boomers are prime candidates for marketing fishing. We can be successful, not in selling the fish, but in selling the splash—fun of fishing.

Although fishing has been around for thousands of years, many people in today's civilized world have little concept of how or why to fish. For those of us in the industry, finding ways to answer the most basic questions about fishing and reduce or remove barriers to fishing has long since eluded us. Why go fishing? What makes fishing fun? Is fishing safe? How do I fish? Where do I fish? How much does it cost? What do I do with the fish when I catch it? In order to create new anglers/customers/license holders, we must address how to provide answers to these and other questions posed by non-anglers. These factors and barriers, along with practical recommendations, will be discussed.

Angling media outlets join fishery management agencies, tourism promoters, and the fishing tackle industry in having a vested interest in maintaining or increasing angling participation. Media outlets, including print, television, videotape, radio, and the Internet, need an audience to buy their services, and the market is increasingly competitive. To promote angling, and at the same time succeed financially, various media must simultaneously appeal to specialized groups of anglers by providing up-to-date and technically accurate information, recruit non-anglers to the sport of fishing, and encourage increased participation and specialization among anglers. One role of the angling media is to act as an intermediary between anglers and fisheries management agencies, angling experts, and the fishing tackle industry. Communication, coordination, and mutual understanding of roles will enhance this process and keep angling among the foremost outdoor experiences.

Faced with declines in participation and license revenue, combined with increasing difficulty in securing general revenue funds, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission leadership concluded that changes in the way the entire agency conducted itself appeared to be the only long term solution to the problem. Marketing principles were instituted agency-wide as a primary management tool. Marketing at the Commission would be a function everyone participated in, not just a promotional department. Problem solving, customer recognition, and orientation have become the guiding force of the agency. Promotional programs have been put into place based on an increased understanding of all stakeholders' wants and needs.

Biologists and administrators have been marketing hunting and fishing opportunities ever since the first person asked “How is the fishing?” or “Where can I hunt?” In today's technological world we tend to lose sight of the fact that anglers and hunters are our critical customers and they depend upon us to manage and market these opportunities. During recent discussions about Federal Aid to Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration outreach, the concept of marketing recreational hunting and fishing has been raised to a new level. Does that mean that we are going to do more marketing than in the past? Probably not. It means biologists and administrators will be participating more in the marketing process. If we are to succeed in the future we have to refocus on customer service and what most of our customers want is information.

Everybody has an opinion why fishing license sales have declined from 1990-1995 and most are quick to identify the cause and offer recommendations on how to stimulate interest in sportfishing. Unfortunately, most of these views are based on limited local experience and narrow perspectives. The sportfishing community needs a national strategic outreach plan prepared by a cross-section of stakeholders. The plan should examine the trend of fishing license sales, reasons for angler desertion, projections, and opportunities for angler recruitment. It should also develop objectives and strategies for increasing angling participation. A proposal is provided identifying how this plan can be achieved.

Monthly electrofishing samples for saugeye (walleye x sauger hybrids; Stizostedion vitreum x S. canadense) were collected on 3 reservoirs during spring and fall, 1996. Sampling was stratified by day type (day and night) and habitat type (bass-cove and saugeye-main-lake shoreline and points). CPUE (N fish/hour) was calculated for 4 size classes and compared for each sampling stratum. Precision of the estimates was calculated and sampling recommendations made. Differences in seasonal catch rates were inconsistent among reservoirs and size classes. CPUEs of night samples were higher for size class A (≤ 310 mm; age 0) on all reservoirs. However, no clear diel pattern in catch rates of size classes B (311-400 mm; age 1), C (401-456 mm), or D (≥ 457 mm) was observed. Habitat type had little effect on CPUE and its associated precision. Precision of most samples was poor.

Baited hoop nets and low-frequency DC electrofishing were compared to determine which method would provide numbers of blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) to sufficiently describe population characteristics using the least effort in 2 South Texas rivers. Catfish were collected with both gear types, July-August, 1995-1996. Electrofishing resulted in 11.4 fish/man-hour of effort, while hoop netting resulted in 0.1 fish/man-hour. Size of fish collected ranged from 42 to 865 mm with electrofishing and from 320 to 398 mm with hoop netting. Low-frequency DC electrofishing provides an efficient method for collecting blue catfish in South Texas rivers during summer.

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) stock characteristics of a small floodplain river were compared from samples collected in 1994-1996 from 3 different hoop configurations (large hoop net (LH): 4.3 long with 7 1.07-m diameter hoops and 3.81-cm bar mesh netting; small hoop net (SH): 1.3 m long with 4 0.51-m diameter hoops and 3.81-cm bar mesh netting; and small hoop net (SM): 1.3 m long with 4 .0.51-m diameter hoops and 2.54-cm bar mesh netting). Channel catfish were fully-recruited at 35cm total length (TL) in LH and SH configurations and 30 cm TL in the SM configuration. The SM configuration collected 2.5 times more channel catfish than LH and SH configurations combined. Length-frequency distributions of the fully-recruited component of the catch (fish > 35 cm TL) were similar (P > 0.05) among hoop net configurations. Mean TL and mean weight differences among configurations were reduced after correcting for differences in bar mesh size.

Three hoop net configurations were fished simultaneously to compare catch efficacy for bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) and smallmouth buffalo (/. bubalus) in 3 tributaries of the Yazoo River, Mississippi. Nets were small standard (4.3 m long with 1.1-m diameter hoops and 3.8-cm bar mesh), small commercial (4.3 m long with 1.1-m diameter hoops and 7.6-cm bar mesh), and large commercial (5.0 m long with 1.5-m diameter hoops and 7.6-cm bar mesh) hoop nets. Large commercial nets are the principal gear of commercial, artisanal, and subsistence fishers exploiting the resource. Small standard nets are typically used for agency-sponsored stock assessments. For bigmouth buffalo, mean ranked catch per unit of effort (MRCPUE kg/net-night) was not significantly different among gears for commercial-length fish (> 410 mm, total length (TL)) or fish of all lengths.

We investigated the effect of sampling site access on estimates of fish abundance in 2 eastern Oklahoma streams. Centrarchid species were sampled by electrofishing at public and remote access sites on Baron Fork Creek in northeastern Oklahoma and Glover River in southeastern Oklahoma. We verified differences in recreational use and habitat between access types in both streams. Recreational use was generally higher at public than remote access areas in each stream. Public areas in Glover River had higher fish densities, were deeper, and had more instream cover than remote areas. However, mean density of fish, mean depth, and frequency of cover types at public and remote areas in Baron Fork Creek were not significantly different. Although we did not observe a consistent trend in fish abundance between streams at public and remote access sites, our findings indicate that accessibility sampling from public access areas may yield biased estimates of population size.

We conducted a study of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) movements in the Yockanookany River, Mississippi, a river subjected to a long-reach decoupling of the river channel from its respective floodplain. We collected 40 channel catfish and surgically implanted radio-transmitters. Fish were tracked during 2 periods—March-June 1994 and November 1994-June 1995. Most fish moved ≤5 km. During elevated flows, radio-tagged fish in the river moved to or remained in the river section coupled with the floodplain. Four fish moved from the river channel into an oxbow lake when it was coupled with the river by high water. While we recognize the importance of addressing floodplain river ecosystems at a landscape and system level of resolution, and absolutely support management at this scale, our study indicates that 5-km channel sections should be considered the minimum management unit for channel catfish in small Mississippi rivers.

Radio-telemetry was used to evaluate the movements of 11 adult largemouth bass {Micropterus salmoides) from November 1995 through May 1996. A significant offshore migration occurred during the day throughout much of the winter. Seasonally, fish shifted offshore during cold water temperatures; a significant inverse correlation existed between distance offshore and water temperature. During high water levels some fish moved inshore to use inundated terrestrial habitat, even at water temperatures as low as 6 C. Although fish tended to move less during colder weather, most fish remained active throughout the study; average movement between weekly tracking sessions was 298 m during the winter (17 Dec-20 Mar). Ten of 11 fish exhibited distinct home ranges, while 1 fish exhibited inter-embayment mobility and no home range. Four fish redistributed themselves to new home ranges in late fall, but returned to their prior home ranges by early spring.