Volume 54, April 2015, Pages 98–107
Using stakeholder engagement to inform endangered species management and improve conservation
Highlights
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- Anglers were surveyed about their views of endangered rockfish conservation.
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- Anglers with knowledge of rockfish showed stronger support for conservation.
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- Preferred conservation actions for rockfish were shaped by where people fish.
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- Thus, place-based management and public education could aid rockfish recovery.
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- This study is a framework for early stakeholder engagement in recovery planning.
Abstract
Successful
endangered species conservation requires understanding, support, and
participation from user groups and stakeholders in conjunction with
biological information. A representative survey of the boat-based
angling population in Puget Sound, WA, USA, was conducted to provide
baseline information regarding angler knowledge about rockfish, fishing
practices, perceptions of threats to rockfish, and preferences for
recovery measures to inform the recovery plan for three rockfish species
listed under the Endangered Species Act. Generalized linear models were
used to evaluate the hypothesis that variation in stakeholders׳
perceived threats to rockfish and preferences for rockfish recovery
measures is related to their fishing practices and knowledge of rockfish
biology. Knowledge of rockfish longevity and past experience fishing
for rockfish were important predictors of support for conservation
measures and willingness to take personal action to recover rockfish.
These findings highlight the important role education may play in
garnering the necessary long-term support for rockfish recovery.
Further, locations where anglers fished in Puget Sound were found to
shape perceptions of threats to rockfish, suggesting that place-based
management options should be considered where biologically appropriate.
This study illustrates the complexity of species management in
social-ecological systems and provides a framework for comprehensively
engaging stakeholders and understanding their relationships with
endangered and threatened species prior to the development of a recovery
plan. Such engagement may not only better inform management and
outreach decisions but also pave the way toward more collaborative and
effective endangered species management and conservation.
Keywords
- Endangered species;
- Conservation;
- Management;
- Stakeholder outreach;
- Social–ecological surveys;
- Rockfish
- Corresponding
author. Current address: National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, USA. Tel.:
+1 612 418 7653.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
