Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Recreational fishing is enjoyed by 3 million Canadians annually, is an important component of our social fabric and contributor to quality of life, and contributes $7.7 billion to the economy. Declines in fishing quality, and in some cases complete collapses, have led to declines in angling activity over the last 20 years. The purpose of this research is to test the hypothesis that these declines are due to ineffective management policies and to provide the science in support of the sustainable management of this valuable natural resource. We will use a large scale experiment and models to optimize stocking and regulation policies to promote the maintenance of recreational fishing in Canada and ensure the conservation of wild stocks of recreationally important fishes. This program is a partnership with the Freshwater Fisheries Society of British Columbia who are providing substantial funding and logistical support. We will collect data on angler behaviour and preferences, and rainbow trout ecology, in 42 experimental fisheries in the southern interior of British Columbia and model the harvest dynamics over this landscape. Manipulations of stocking density, reproductive technologies, species and accessibility of fisheries will be used to test and refine models. We will optimize management of fisheries over this landscape and apply the approaches and results to two other high value, at risk, fisheries in British Columbia and Ontario. Research results will be disseminated to scientists and resource managers across Canada through a series of workshops.