Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 11:329–341, 2006 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1087-1209 print / 1533-158X online DOI: 10.1080/10871200600894969
Understanding Recreational Fishers’ Participation in Public Consultation Programs
1533-158X 1087-1209 UHDW Human Dimensions of Wildlife Wildlife, Vol. 11, No. 5, July 2006: pp. 1–26
Fisher S. G. Sutton Participation in Public Consultation
STEPHEN G. SUTTON Cooperative Research Centre for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, School of Tropical Environment Studies and Geography, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia This study sought to understand the demographic and commitment variables that predict participation by recreational fishers in public consultation programs, and investigated differences in opinions and beliefs between participants and nonparticipants. In a survey of recreational fishers in Queensland, Australia, 28% of respondents reported participating in public consultation programs regarding issues affecting recreational fisheries. Participation in consultation programs was positively related to age, avidity, centrality (i.e., importance) of fishing to lifestyle, and membership in fisheries-related organizations. There was no effect of gender, income, or years of fishing experience on participation. Participants and non-participants differed significantly in their level of agreement with 12 of 20 belief statements about fisheries management, issues and threats facing recreational fisheries, and the effects of recreational fishing on fish populations. Participants and non-participants also differed in their level of approval of four of eight fishing regulations. Results suggest that recreational fishers who participate in public consultation programs may not be representative of the wider recreational fisher population. Keywords recreational fishing, public consultation, commitment
Natural resource management agencies are under increasing pressure to consult their constituents and include them in the decision-making process. In Queensland, Australia, management agencies use public meetings and formal submission programs to solicit public input and enhance public involvement in fisheries and marine park management decisions. Public meetings are open gatherings, usually organized by the agency, that have the purpose of providing information and seeking public discussion and comment on a specific issue. Submission programs are a somewhat more rigorous and formal method of seeking and recording public input about an issue. Typically, an agency seeking public comment about a specific proposal will invite interested groups and individuals to make a formal written submission under specific terms of reference, and will often provide pro-forma documents for assistance. Involvement in public meetings and submission programs requires a certain level of interest and motivation on behalf of participants, and individuals who choose to become involved are often required to make a considerable investment of time in the process. It has become generally accepted that the people who choose to become involved—as well as the opinions and information gathered—may not be representative of all stakeholders Address correspondence to Stephen G. Sutton, Cooperative Research Centre for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, School of Tropical Environment Studies and Geography, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia. E-mail:
[email protected]
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or their views (Gundry & Heberlein, 1984; McComas, 2001). For example, Johnson, Johnson, Edwards, and Wheaton (1993) found that hunters who attended public meetings tended to have stronger opinions about deer management than hunters who did not attend. The authors concluded that some of the observed differences were large enough to potentially affect a policy choice (Johnson et al., 1993 p. 222). McComas and Scherer (1998) found that citizens who attended public meetings about a proposed landfill tended to be angrier about the proposal and more worried about its effects than non-participants living in the same area. McComas (2001) found that public meeting participants tended to perceive greater risks from waste sites and were less likely than non-participants to see sources of information about the waste sites as credible. These results illustrate the potential for public consultation programs to produce information that does not represent the values and opinions of all stakeholders. Currently, however, little information is available about the representativeness of fisheries-related consultation programs. A better understanding of who participates in public consultation programs about fisheries issues and how participants differ from non-participants would give managers a better understanding of the constituents with whom they interact through these programs. Such information would be useful for evaluating consultation programs in terms of the representativeness of the information provided and the effectiveness of these programs at reaching all stakeholders. A better understanding of fisher participation in consultation programs would be particularly relevant to fisheries and marine park managers in Queensland where public meetings and submission programs continue to be used, and where a number of controversial management initiatives have recently been implemented following extended periods of public consultation.1
Who is Most Likely to Participate in Consultation Programs? Research on attendance at public meetings suggests that demographic variables may differ between attendees and non-attendees; however, no clear picture of how demographic characteristics influence involvement in consultation programs has emerged. For example, Gundy and Heberlein (1984) compared attendees and non-attendees at public meetings about road salt, deer hunting, and resource management policy and found that the two groups differed in income in one setting and education and place of residence (rural vs. urban) in the other two. Only age did not differ between attendees and non-attendees in the three settings. McComas and Scherer (1998) found that demographic characteristics did not differ between attendees and non-attendees of public meetings about a proposed landfill. McComas (2001), however, found that attendees at meetings about waste sites tended to report higher incomes and be more likely to have children at home than non-attendees. These findings suggest that although involvement in public consultation programs may be related to demographic characteristics, the relationship may be situation-specific and not overly useful for understanding what motivates some individuals to become involved. There is likely a complex set of psychological factors that underlie an individual’s motivation to become involved in public consultation programs. At the very least, an individual must believe that he or she will be affected by the issue in question. Support for this proposition was provided by McComas (2001, 2003) who found that public meeting attendees perceived higher risks about waste management sites than did non-attendees living in the same area. This heightened perception of risk appeared to be already in place prior to attending public meetings about the issue, suggesting that heightened risk perception motivated meeting attendance. Whether individuals perceive an issue as affecting them will depend on the specific nature of the issue about which the consultation program
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is based. For example, in north Queensland, two major fisheries and marine park management initiatives have recently affected recreational fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It is expected that fishers who regularly fish in the Marine Park would be more likely to view these issues as directly affecting them—and therefore be more likely to participate in public consultation programs about these issues—than fishers who live in the same area but who do not regularly fish in the Marine Park. Obviously, however, not everyone who is potentially affected by an issue chooses to become involved in consultation programs. Whereas it might be useful to identify fisheries stakeholders most likely to be affected by an issue, it would be more valuable to understand which segments of the affected population are most likely to get involved, why they choose to do so, and how they differ from those who do not. The concept of commitment to leisure activities provides a starting point for understanding why some recreational fishers choose to become involved in public consultation programs. Buchanan (1985) defined commitment as “the pledging or binding of an individual to behavioral acts which result in some degree of affective attachment to the behaviour.” Buchanan (1985) identified two components that influence the degree to which an individual becomes bound to an activity and which may be useful for understanding why some fishers are more likely to become involved in consultation programs than others. The first—consistent or focused behavior over time—implies a willingness to devote time and effort to the activity, likely at the expense of opportunities for, and interest in, other recreational activities. Variables that measure experience level and avidity are often used to measure the consistency of behavior over time (Buchanan, 1985). The second component of commitment—affective attachment—entails an affirmation of the activity because it is personally pleasing, meaningful, and intuitively worthwhile (Godbey, 1985). As affective attachment increases, fishing becomes a controlling life interest and an important part of how fishers view themselves and how they would like to be viewed by others. For fishers with high affective attachment, continued participation in fishing becomes vital for self-expression and maintaining a consistent self-concept (Sutton & Ditton, 2001). Buchanan (1985) suggested that variables that measure centrality to lifestyle (i.e., the extent to which an individual’s lifestyle and social networks are connected to his or her pursuit of a given leisure activity [Kim, Scott, & Crompton, 1997]) tap into the affective attachment dimension of commitment. Highly committed recreational fishers should be more likely than their low-commitment counterparts to participate in public consultation programs about fisheries-related issues. As commitment to fishing increases, fishers become increasingly dependent on fishing to meet their leisure and social–psychological needs because other leisure activities have been rejected in favor of fishing. Highly committed fishers should be more likely to believe that fisheries management issues will affect them, be more concerned about the possible effects of management changes, and be more motivated to take actions to ensure that their interests are protected in the fisheries management process. Highly committed fishers should also be more knowledgeable about fisheries resources and management (Hammitt & McDonald, 1983; Jacob & Schreyer, 1981) and thus be more likely to believe that their contribution to the management process through engagement in consultation programs is useful and valuable. Using a random sample of recreational fishers from the Great Barrier Reef region of Queensland, Australia, this study investigated the influence of demographic variables and indicators of commitment on recreational fishers’ participation in public consultation programs. The study also explored differences in opinions and beliefs between fishers who chose to become involved in consultation programs and those who did not. It is hoped
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that this study will provide the basis for developing a theoretical understanding of why some fishers choose to become involved in fisheries-related public consultation programs and how they differ from those who do not participate.
Methods Data Collection Data used in the study come from a state-wide recreational fishing survey conducted by James Cook University in 2004. The overarching purpose of the survey was to collect data on a wide range of social variables related to recreational fishing (including angling, spear fishing, crabbing, and prawning) in Queensland, Australia. The target population for the current study was recreational fishers aged 15 years or over residing within 50 km of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park coastline. Data were collected using a combination of telephone and mail survey methods. Recreational fishers residing within the study area were surveyed by telephone in February and March, 2004. A simple random sample of residential telephone numbers was selected from the electronic telephone directory for the study region. Duplicate numbers and mobile numbers were excluded from the sampling frame prior to sample selection. Up to 6 attempts were made to contact each sampled household. The individual who answered the telephone in each household was asked if anyone in the household had done any recreational fishing, crabbing, or prawning in Queensland during the previous 12 months. When more than one fisher lived in the household, the fisher with the most recent birthday was selected for interviewing. When the selected fisher was not available, an appointment was made and the fisher was called back at the appointed time. Fishers were administered a short survey about their fishing activity that included questions on avidity, experience, importance of fishing as an outdoor activity, and skill level. At the conclusion of the survey, respondents were asked if they would be willing to participate in a follow-up mail survey. Names and addresses were collected from those who agreed. In total, 5,733 households within the study area were contacted resulting in 4,379 interviews (76%) in which the respondent answered the question about whether anyone in the household had fished in the previous 12 months. This resulted in 1,547 full telephone interviews with active recreational fishers and a sample of 1,372 fishers who agreed to participate in the follow-up mail survey. An 11-page self-administered mail questionnaire was used to collect further data from active fishers. Survey procedures were similar to those recommended by Salant and Dillman (1994) (with the exception that an introductory letter was not sent to fishers prior to the first survey). A total of 793 completed mail surveys were returned. Excluding non-deliverable surveys (n = 16), an effective response rate of 59% was achieved for the mail survey. Non-response bias in the mail survey was evaluated using data from the telephone survey. Significant differences between mail survey respondents and non-respondents were tested on the following variables measured in the telephone survey: (a) importance of fishing as an outdoor activity; (b) number of days recreationally fished during the previous 12 months; (c) number of years fishing experience; (d) gender; and (e) age. T-tests were used for continuous variables, Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for ordinal variables, and chi-square tests were used for binomial variables. Level of statistical significance was set at alpha = 0.05.
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Results of the non-response bias check revealed that non-respondents were significantly younger (37 years vs. 44 years; F = 43.7; p < 0.0001), had significantly fewer years fishing experience (24 years vs. 30 years; F = 42.8; p < 0.0001), and were less likely to rate fishing as their most important outdoor activity (38% vs. 46%; Z = 2.9; p = 0.002) compared to respondents. These differences suggest that older, more experienced and committed fishers may be somewhat overrepresented in the mail survey. Analysis Participation in public consultation programs was measured by asking; (a) Have you ever attended a public meeting about a fisheries-related issue? (If yes, what issue?); and (b) Have you ever made a submission to a government agency (e.g., Queensland Fisheries Service, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) as part of a formal consultation process about a fisheries-related issue? (If yes, what issue?). Respondents were classified as “participants” if they answered “yes” to one or both questions and “non-participants” if they answered “no” to both questions. Logistic regression (Agresti, 1996) was used to model participation in public consultation programs as a function of a set of demographic variables and indicators of commitment. Demographic variables included age (M = 44; SD = 15), gender (80% male), and income (measured on an 11-point scale ranging from $100,000; median category = $40,000 to $49,000). Indicators of commitment included number of days fished during the previous 12 months (M = 24; SD = 29), number of years of fishing experience (M = 30; SD = 16), membership in one or more fishing-related organizations (classified as member (6%) or non-member), and centrality of fishing to the fisher’s lifestyle. Centrality to lifestyle was measured using the scale developed by Kim et al. (1997) to measure centrality to lifestyle of birders and adapted to recreational fishing by Sutton (2003). Respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement (with categories 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neutral; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree) with nine statements about the personal importance of fishing. The nine variables were averaged to calculate the centrality to lifestyle index (M index score = 2.5; SD = 0.8). Cronbach’s alpha of 0.87 indicated an acceptable level of reliability for the centrality to lifestyle index (Table 1). Because a number of management initiatives have recently affected fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, a variable indicating whether the fisher had fished in the Marine Park during the previous 12 months (classified as yes [61%] or no) was also included in the analysis. Level of statistical significance was set at alpha = 0.05. Differences between participants and non-participants were explored further by testing for differences in beliefs and opinions between the two groups. Beliefs about fisheries management, the effects of recreational fishing, and issues facing recreational fishing were measured by asking fishers to rate their level of agreement (categories 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neutral; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree) with a series of statements. Statements about fisheries management and the effects of recreational fishing were adapted from Salz (2002). Opinions about recreational fisheries regulations were measured by asking fishers to rate their level of support (with categories 1 = strongly oppose; 2 = oppose; 3 = neutral; 4 = support; 5 = strongly support) for a number of types of regulations that are often used to manage recreational fisheries. Because the primary question of interest was whether there were meaningful differences in the beliefs and opinions of participants and non-participants, the 5-point response scales were collapsed into 3-point scales (i.e., 1 = agree; 2 = neutral; 3 = disagree or 1 = oppose; 2 = neutral; 3 = support) prior to analysis. Differences between participants and non-participants in the
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S. G. Sutton Table 1 Descriptive statistics and reliability analysis for the centrality to lifestyle scale for Queensland fishers
Centrality scale items (α = 0.87)
Ma
SD
Item-total correlation
α if item deleted
If I stopped fishing, I would probably lose touch with a lot of my friends If I couldn’t go fishing, I am not sure what I would do Because of fishing, I don’t have time to spend participating in other leisure activities Most of my friends are in some way connected with fishing I consider myself to be somewhat expert at fishing I find that a lot of my life is organized around fishing Others would probably say I spend too much time fishing I would rather go fishing than do most anything else Other leisure activities don’t interest me as much as fishing
2.2
0.9
0.49
0.87
2.5
1.1
0.68
0.85
2.1
0.8
0.49
0.87
2.9
1.1
0.51
0.87
2.5
1.0
0.51
0.87
2.4
1.0
0.74
0.84
2.2
1.0
0.63
0.85
2.8
1.2
0.73
0.85
2.7
1.2
0.68
0.85
a
Measured on a 5-point scale with response categories ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree.
rating of each item were tested using a Wilcoxon rank-sum test with alpha = 0.05 (Siegel & Castellan, 1988).
Results Of the 765 respondents who answered the two questions about involvement in public consultation programs, 182 (24%) reported attending a public meeting and 131 (17%) reported making a formal submission to a government agency. In total, 217 (28%) respondents were classified as “participants” in public consultation programs about fisheriesrelated issues (96 respondents reported participating in both public meetings and formal submissions). Seventy-two percent of fishers who attended a meeting and 75% of fishers who made a formal submission reported doing so over the issue of rezoning the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Only 4% of those who attended a meeting and 3% of those who made a submission reported doing so over the issue of the new size, bag/possession, and no-take restrictions introduced by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. Other issues cited by respondents as reasons for attending a public meeting or making a formal submission included commercial fishing/commercial closures (5% meetings; 3% submissions), local or species-related issues (5% meetings; 5% submissions), and restocking of waterways (2% meetings; 0% submissions). Results of the logistic regression analysis testing the effects of demographic and fishing participation variables on participation in public consultation programs are presented
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in Table 2. Whether the fisher had fished in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park over the past 12 months had a moderate positive influence on participation (odds ratio = 2.83 for those who fished in the GBRMP vs. those who had not). Of the demographic variables tested, only age was significant, showing a positive but weak effect on participation (odds ratio for a 1 year difference in age = 1.02; odds ratio for a 25 year difference in age = 1.65) There was no effect of either gender or income on participation in consultation programs. Three of the four indicators of commitment had a significant effect on participation in public consultation programs. Centrality to lifestyle had a strong positive influence (odds ratio for a one unit difference in centrality to lifestyle = 1.92; odds ratio for a four unit difference in centrality to lifestyle [i.e., the maximum possible difference] = 13.5). Organization membership had a moderate positive influence on participation (odds ratio = 2.81 for members vs. non-members), and number of days fished in the previous 12 months had a positive but weak influence (odds ratio for one day difference in days fished = 1.01; odds ratio for a 50 day difference in days fished = 1.42). There was no significant effect of years of fishing experience on participation in public consultation programs. Participants and non-participants differed significantly on their level of agreement with 9 of 14 belief statements about issues facing recreational fisheries, fisheries management, and the effects of recreational fishing on fish populations (Table 3). Compared to non-participants, participants were more likely to disagree with the following statements: (a) “Recreational fishers are adequately consulted about fisheries management decisions”; (b) “Information about changes in fisheries regulations is readily available to recreational fishers”; (c) “Compared to other groups, recreational fishers receive fair treatment in fisheries management decisions”; (d) “Recreational fishing regulations are adequately enforced”; (e) “I would be willing to accept stricter limits on recreational catch today if it meant that future generations would inherit healthy fish populations”; (f) “Limiting recreational fishing catch today will help ensure quality recreational fishing in the future”; (g) “There is little connection between the number of fish caught by recreational fishers today and the number that will be available in the future”; and (h) “For some species, the total Table 2 Results of the logistic regression analysis testing the effects of demographic and fishing participation variables on participation in public consultation programs for Queensland fishers. Only significant variables have been included in the final modela Parameter
df
Parameter estimate
SE
Chi-square
p
Odds ratio
Intercept 1 −3.27 0.46 50.10
