Excerpts from the study Recreational Fisheries: Socioeconomic Importance, Conservation Issues and Management Challenges by Robert Arlinghaus and Steven J. Cooke:
“For many years it was assumed that recreational fishing was a benign phenomenon. This assumption is beginning to be challenged with increasing research conducted on the topic.”
“Fundamental to the function of management regulations for fish and wildlife is the need for high levels of compliance. Unfortunately, fishing suffers from less than perfect compliance (Muth & Bowe, 1998; Sullivan, 2002), at times making management strategies falter or fail (Sullivan, 2002).”
“Excessive exploitation of animal populations though elevated anthropogenic mortality represents one of the most prominent conservation issues shared by hunting and fishing (Mace & Reynolds, 2001).”
“Recent syntheses have revealed that recreational fishing can lead to environmental pollution and disturbance in a number of ways.”
For more details, see Factsheet: Impacts of Recreational Fishing on Wildlife and the Environment, Updated Apr. 12, 2017