Angler Regulation Awareness and Harvest on a Contaminated River Fishery: Results of the 1997 Shenandoah River System Creel Survey

Bowman , D. W., Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (formerly Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries)

The South Fork of the Shenandoah and the Shenandoah River mainstem in Virginia, are contaminated with mercury and PCBs, respectively. The system supports a very popular smallmouth bass fishery along with largemouth bass, various sunfishes, and channel catfish. A roving creel survey was conducted to assess angler awareness of health advisories and sport fishing regulations and how those affected angling pressure and harvest. The survey consisted of two creel clerks floating a section of the river during three week-days and each weekend-day per week, from April through October 1997.  The clerks counted every boat and angler and interviewed every angler possible with a 27 question interview form. Six aerial flights per month provided comparative pressure counts. Aerial flights were interrupted for 1 1/2 months due to crashing the airplane. Results of the survey demonstrated extremely low harvest rates for all species. Yet anglers demonstrated poor knowledge of contaminants and the associated health advisories, along with poor knowledge of sport fishing regulations.  These results demonstrated the prominent catch-and-release mentality of today’s Shenandoah River anglers regardless of the presence of contaminants in the system.

Copyright © 1999
Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
Last modified: 03/03/04 04:15:38 PM