Do anglers living near the coast really fish more? A GIS-based analysis of angler characteristics Diane Kuehn Emily Johnson Eddie Bevilacqua Mike Bullock SUNY College of Env. Science and Forestry Funding provided by NY Sea Grant

Background In 2009, Lake Ontario resident angler survey completed. Follow-up study to identify spatial connections.

Purpose To analyze the spatial relationships among anglers’ location of residence and: Demographics Fishing participation Constraints and facilitators to participation

Definitions Constraints: elements that intervene between leisure preferences and participation (Crawford and Godbey, 1987; Henderson, Stalnaker, and Taylor, 1988). Facilitators: the factors that “enable or promote the formation of leisure preferences and encourage participation” (Raymore, 2002).

Sample Random sample: 7,000 property owners from Lake Ontario counties 1,000 per county Survey conducted in fall, 2009 Modified Tailored Design Method (Dillman, 2007) Identical mail and online questionnaire

Questionnaire Questions included: Species preference Number of times angler went fishing per year (participation) Other fishing characteristics Demographics Constraints and facilitators Motivations

For this GIS study… Demographics Age Number of household members Number of adult anglers in the household Household income Fishing participation Number of times angler fished per year (2005 – 2009)

Survey questions Constraints and facilitators “Does this factor limit or enable your fishing participation?” Scale: -2 (greatly limits) to 0 (neutral) to 2 (greatly enables) Included… Time Economic costs Access and equipment Past experience Social support Weather Perceptions of the environment Perceptions of fisheries management Level of knowledge, interest, & commitment

Analysis Confirmatory factor analyses (EQS) Constraints and facilitators Centroid data used for each angler’s property Variables aggregated in ArcGIS by: Distance from shore Township/Municipality County

Results 5,580 in qualified sample 1,303 respondents (23% response) 681 responding anglers

Average number of trips per year By Township/Municipality ( )

Average number of trips per year By distance from shore (2005 – 2009) or less

Facilitators

Facilitator: Access & Equipment

Constraints

Discussion Few noticeable differences between anglers based on location of residence. Exceptions: Average number of trips ( ) Highest 5 to 10 miles from shore Access and equipment Highest 2.5 to 10 miles from shore Lowest 10.1 to 15 miles from shore

Conclusion Why do anglers who live slightly inland fish more? Anglers living slightly inland also perceive access to be a stronger facilitator. Why is access not so much of a facilitator for those living even further inland?

Questions? Thanks to New York Sea Grant for funding this study!