The Atlantic bluefin tuna, while considered overfished, supports a popular, high-economic-output recreational fishery along the U.S. east coast from Maine to North Carolina. Due to the highly migratory nature of bluefin tuna, the species is managed internationally throughout the Atlantic Ocean, with the United States receiving an annual allocation as a percentage of the Atlantic-wide total allowable catch, which it apportions domestically among different users (i.e., commercial and recreational fishermen). It is imperative that the United States maintain its landings within the designated quota in order to avoid international sanctions.

While domestic commercial landings can be monitored in near-real-time due to strict reporting requirements for fishermen and seafood dealers, tracking recreational bluefin tuna harvest has presented a persistent challenge for the National Marine Fisheries Service. While catch reporting is also required for the recreational fishery, compliance is extremely low, estimated at about 20%. In addition, landings by the recreational sector can fluctuate widely from year to year due to changes in fish availability or to regulations, each of which can affect angler behavior—for example, the number of anglers participating in the fishery, and the intensity of their fishing effort. Better understanding the drivers of bluefin tuna angler effort is critical for predicting bluefin tuna harvest by the recreational sector and preventing landings that exceed the United States’ internationally designated quota. At the same time, examining the decision-making, preferences, and values of recreational Atlantic bluefin tuna anglers will serve to quantify the benefits that recreational fishermen derive from the resource, as well as to identify the components of the fishing experience that contribute to those benefits. By surveying recreational anglers and employing econometric modeling techniques to tease out their motivations, preferences, and values, my research will inform the development of management strategies that maximize angler welfare while maintaining catches within prescribed limits.

I believe that the recreational bluefin tuna fishing community along the U.S. east coast would benefit from learning about my research and its implications. Specific examples of audiences I may target include charter boat association members, visitors to recreational fishing trade shows/exhibitions, and big-game tournament participants. I have observed many recreational anglers exhibit a sense of distrust and lack of confidence in the domestic fishery management system; I believe that such sentiments are largely due to a) a lack of understanding of the work that is occurring and its purpose, and b) the absence of a personal connection or sense of solidarity with individuals who are conducting such research. Given the highly collaborative nature of this work, which relies on survey data, my economic research represents an excellent opportunity to communicate the type of research that is being conducted on behalf of recreational anglers while also demonstrating the benefits that can result when fishermen, fisheries scientists, and managers work together toward a common goal.

The product I intend to develop will be a photo essay for exhibition to recreational anglers. The photo essay will explain the challenges of managing the recreational bluefin tuna fishery while illustrating the methods that I will use to tease out the motivations and values of anglers. For example, how much do anglers value harvesting a tuna compared to catching and releasing a tuna? Through my field work with bluefin tuna fishermen, I have assembled a broad array of compelling images to engage the audience and provide tangible examples of how my research relates to—and seeks to benefit—recreational bluefin tuna anglers.  While the photo essay will touch on the goal of being able to better predict angler effort and harvest, I will focus my photo essay on the need for quantifying the benefits recreational anglers derive from the fishery, which can be a difficult concept to explain (most fishermen tend to think more about expenditures when they hear fisheries economics). The photo essay will be exhibited on a large poster, or perhaps a series of posters. While I do not know the full range of venues at which I would present the final product, I am currently scheduled to speak about my research to the Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association (http://stellwagenbank.org/) on April 11, 2017, and would certainly display the photo essay there.