Using Volunteer Anglers to Survey Murray Cod: What's the Catch?

USING VOLUNTEER ANGLERS TO SURVEY MURRAY COD: WHAT’S THE CATCH?

Patrick Ross-Magee (B.Env.Sci)

A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Applied Science Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra February 2018

Statement of Contribution

As all three data chapters in this thesis have been prepared for future publication in peer-reviewed journals, a number of other people deserve special acknowledgement for their contribution to the work. These include:

Associate Professor Mark Lintermans (Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra), who provided guidance and supervision on all aspects of the Masters study and assisted in the preparation of manuscripts.

Associate Professor Jacki Schirmer (Institute for Applied Ecology and Health Research Institute, University of Canberra), who provided guidance and supervision on all aspects of the Masters study and assisted in the preparation of manuscripts.

Ben Broadhurst (Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra), who provided guidance and supervision on all aspects of the Masters study and assisted in the preparation of manuscripts.

Associate Professor Fiona Dyer (Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra), who provided guidance and supervision on all aspects of the Masters study and assisted in the preparation of manuscripts.

Professor Richard Duncan (Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra), who provided guidance and support for calculations and manuscript preparation for the Murray cod population estimates (chapter 3).

These people will be included as authors on publications resulting from this thesis. However, regardless of their contribution the work within is my own and I have received no assistance other than what is stated above.

Acknowledgements

This research was conducted with approval from the University of Canberra Animal Ethics Committee (Auth: 14-34) and Human Research Ethics Committee (Auth: 15-30). The study was funded by Icon Water, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), and the Institute for Applied Ecology. All electrofishing operations complied with the Australian Code of Electrofishing Practice (NSW Fisheries 1997).

Firstly, I would like to thank my parents, Dr. Veronica Ross and Dr. John Magee, who both inspired my love for science, as well as provided valued advice and much needed capital investment throughout the course of this degree.

I would like to greatly thank all of my supervisors, Mark Lintermans, Jacki Schirmer, Ben Broadhurst, and Fiona Dyer for giving me this opportunity in the first place, and then for their support throughout the entirety of this masters project. I appreciate all of their time, advice, guidance, feedback, expertise and in particular their patience, without which this project would not have been completed.

Thank you to all those who helped in the field, in particular Ben Broadhurst, Rhian Clear and Matt Beitzel, who all endured many physically demanding days on the water electrofishing without sinking any more than one boat. I would also like to greatly thank all the volunteer anglers who participated in the angling and in the interview process - without you this project could not happen; and it is reassuring to know that such an iconic recreational species is largely in excellent hands. I also thank ACT Government and ACT Parks for their administrative help with a number of tricky field scenarios including closed angling waters and permits.

I would also like to acknowledge those involved in the broader FRDC Murray cod project for their support and advice, in particular Gavin Butler, Dan Gwinn, Charles Todd, Brett Ingram and Matt Barwick. I also greatly thank Richard Duncan for his excellent guidance, work, and help with Bayesian modelling and population estimates.

I also thank NSW DPI for providing ‘brag mats’ at no cost for our anglers to conduct the research, as well as a number of tackle companies who provided some excellent prizes for our anglers: PRH Lures Spin Fins, Noxious Spinnerbaits, GR Lures, Jackpot Lures, Last Cast Spinnerbaits and Thirsty Lures.

Thank you.

vii

Abstract

Diminishing biodiversit is a global ecological problem and as the human population continues to gro and climate change continues to orsen biodiversit conservation is of vital importance reshater ecosstems are particularl imperilled as the linear and unidirectional flo characteristics of rivers and streams make them overl sensitive to human impacts ompeting demands from agriculture domestic and industrial use are a maor threat to freshater ecosstems Despite freshater habitats comprising less than 0.02 % of the planet’s water, they contain around 40% of the world’s fish species – ith to of these thought to be threatened reshater fish in ustralia are facing groing threats from modified land use increasingl regulated rivers and competition predation and ecosstem alterations from alien fish species and in the urraDarling asin D ustralia native fish abundance has declined to around of the level of preuropean settlement

urra cod Maccullochella peelii endemic to the MDB, is Australia’s largest obligate freshater fish It is an iconic species that plas an important role ecologicall culturall and economicall urra cod are aggressive sitandait ambush predators that are relativel sedentar outside of breeding season maintaining close association ithin a stream section he are usuall closel associated ith structure such as submerged timber or rocks undercut banks and overhanging vegetation his means that urra cod are difficult to sample using traditional fish surve methods like netting and electrofishing urra cod are simultaneousl a nationall listed threatened species hile remaining a pried recreational fishing target or these reasons the species reuires management attention

Population assessments are an important earl step in an threatened species management programs and hile urra cod are ell studied in loland reaches of the D little is knon about upland populations oat electrofishing has been used etensivel in loland monitoring programs and as a surve techniue it lends itself ell to loland riverine environments onversel the characteristics of upland rivers of the D make access for a boat electrofisher impossible for large stretches of river urthermore boat electrofishing is a costl process and because of strict licensing and legislative reuirements it largel precludes stakeholder involvement

he high costs and limitations of current standard sampling methods netting and boat electrofishing resulted in the commencement in of a Dide proect to investigate the use of volunteer anglerbased surves for urra cod his thesis is part of that asinide proect

rowing interest in participatory citien science initiaties, as well as a strong cohort of conseration iproved anin noedesis netorin opportnities and reater nderstandin o motiated anglers, proide an opportunity to deelop an alternatie anglerased surey method. A scientific processes. Key factors impacting a volunteer’s ability to maintain participation were other olunteerased participatory research approach not only allows staeholder inolement, ut could coitents aectin avaiaiity at speciic ties toether ith concern aot hether aner sustantially reduce the costs and increase the scope of monitoring programs. and researcher oas ere copeentary or iht conict in tre particary i data on ish ocations ere pished. his nderines the need to taior stdy desin to enae participants to n this thesis, report on three ey aspects of Murray cod monitoring a comparison of the contine achievin eneits ro enain in citien science over the onerter as e as to effectieness of different capture techniues, including using olunteer anglers and oat ensre shared oectives are it eteen citien scientists and proessiona researchers enaed in electrofishing, 2 an analysis of the motiations of anglers to inform participatory fishery sin citien data. management study designs and limit olunteer attrition, and an analysis of mar recapture data from the two different electrofishing surey methods, as well as angling sureys to uantify Murray his stdy provides the asis or idin a costeective and anerincsive rray cod onitorin cod populations in upland riers. prora or pand systes here traditiona srvey ethods are sppeented y strctred aner srveys. oe sa adstents to stdy desin sch as the se o onerter tas and o determine the effectieness of capture techniues, compared i standardised olunteer angler ore reent anin srveys shod rest in a hiher recaptre rate and redce the ncertainties ased sureys for Murray cod, ii standard A oat electrofishing sureys and iii targeted o this stdy. dditionay desin o tre participatory ishery onitorin proras shod tae haitat oat electrofishing sureys in a marrecapture study. i sites on the upper Murrumidgee into accont actors that ao vonteers to achieve eneits ro ein invoved in the research ier were first sureyed y angling and then y oat electrofishing during three sampling process as e as iit actors that are iey to rest in vonteer attrition. campaigns in 2020. A total of 4 fish were captured in 24 anglerhours y anglers, and 4 fish were captured in 0. hours y oat electrofishing. A total of mared fish were recaptured, all of which were captured during electrofishing sureys. Angling was shown to capture larger fish median mm than electrofishing median 4 mm . Although angling is a less efficient capture method in terms of catch per unit effort, it proides a costeffectie sampling method that can e employed across a much greater spatial etent in a short period of time. he mar recapture data was also fitted into a Bayesian framewor using Maro hain Monte arlo MM methods to estimate persite Murray cod populations. Acnowledging the large uncertainties stemming from a relatiely low recapture rate, was ale to etrapolate local persite population estimates to include all pool haitat within the Murrumidgee ier in the A. his resulted in an estimate for total postuenile Murray cod aundance in the Murrumidgee ier in the A of 0 fish. Although these estimates should e treated with caution, they are the first attempt to uantify Murray cod populations in an upland system.

o determine their motiations for initial and continuing participation in fishery science, a series of semistructured interiews were conducted with olunteer anglers who participated in the angling sureys. he interiews were analysed using an adaptive theory approach. Participant’s motiation for initial inolement stemmed largely from a strong interest in oth freshwater angling for natie species, and from the conseration of a alued fish species. articipants motiations changed as participation continued, shifting to a desire to continue achieing enefits such as

i iproved anin noedesis netorin opportnities and reater nderstandin o scientific processes. Key factors impacting a volunteer’s ability to maintain participation were other coitents aectin avaiaiity at speciic ties toether ith concern aot hether aner and researcher oas ere copeentary or iht conict in tre particary i data on ish ocations ere pished. his nderines the need to taior stdy desin to enae participants to contine achievin eneits ro enain in citien science over the onerter as e as to ensre shared oectives are it eteen citien scientists and proessiona researchers enaed in sin citien data.

his stdy provides the asis or idin a costeective and anerincsive rray cod onitorin prora or pand systes here traditiona srvey ethods are sppeented y strctred aner srveys. oe sa adstents to stdy desin sch as the se o onerter tas and ore reent anin srveys shod rest in a hiher recaptre rate and redce the ncertainties o this stdy. dditionay desin o tre participatory ishery onitorin proras shod tae into accont actors that ao vonteers to achieve eneits ro ein invoved in the research process as e as iit actors that are iey to rest in vonteer attrition.

Table of Contents

ertificate of uthorship of hesis ...... iii

tatement of ontribution ...... v

cnowlegements ...... vii

bstract ...... i

able of Contents…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….viii

ist of igures ...... vii

ist of ables ...... i

ntrouction ......

ims ......

hapter sing recreational anglers to monitor an iconic threatene species a comparison with conventional electrofishing ......

. bstract ......

. ntrouction ......

. ethos ......

.. tuy area ......

.. ngling surveys ......

.. lectrofishing surveys ......

.. ata analysis ......

. esults ......

. iscussion ......

. cnowlegements ......

iii

Cte intinin itien sientist invoveent in onte onitoin oets n stin se st of onitoin otions of Co ......

. stt ...... ntesis ...... . ntotion ...... Cte sin eetion nes to onito n ioni tetene seies oison .. enefits n osts of itien siene ...... it onvention eetofisin ...... . etos ...... Cte intinin itien sientist invoveent in onte onitoin oets n . ests ...... stin se st of onitoin otions of Co ......

.. tiition n oot...... Cte sin ete t fo vontee nin n eetofisin sves to .. niti otivtions ...... estite o o otions in te e iee ive C......

.. Contine otivtion ...... esis Contition ......

.. ies to onoin tiition ...... efeenes ......

. isssion ...... enies ......

. Consion ...... eni – ntevie eo ist on ......

. noeents ...... eni – ntevie eo eon on......

eni – ntevie eo i on ......

Cte sin ete t fo vontee nin n eetofisin sves to eni – ntevie Coin eo ...... estite o o otions in te e iee ive C...... eni – t ......

. stt ...... etofisin tes......

. ntotion ...... nin tes ......

. etos ...... etofisin sots ......

.. t e ...... nin sves ......

.. t nsis ......

. ests ......

. isssion ......

. noeents ......

iv v

ntesis ......

Cte sin eetion nes to onito n ioni tetene seies oison it onvention eetofisin ......

Cte intinin itien sientist invoveent in onte onitoin oets n stin se st of onitoin otions of Co ......

Cte sin ete t fo vontee nin n eetofisin sves to estite o o otions in te e iee ive C......

esis Contition ......

efeenes ......

enies ......

eni – ntevie eo ist on ......

eni – ntevie eo eon on......

eni – ntevie eo i on ......

eni – ntevie Coin eo ......

eni – t ......

etofisin tes......

nin tes ......

etofisin sots ......

nin sves ......

List of Figures

– ………………………i

–

i i i List of Tables ii i i i i i i i i i i i i – ii i i i i i i i i i ii i i i i i i i i i i i ii i i i i i i ii ii i i i ii i ii i i

i i i i

i i i ii i i i i ii i i i i i i

iii i

List of Tables

i i i i i – ii i i ii i i i i ii i ii ii i ii i ii i i i i i i i i i ii i i i i ii i i i i i i

Introduction

et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al. et al.

et al. et al. et al. % of the world’s water and covering around 0.8% of the planet’s surface, freshwater ecosystems support around 6% of the world’s described species et al. et al. of the world’ et al. et al.

et al. et al. et al. , and it’s likely that the

ecosystems will greatly impact humans alvanera et al. 006 udgeon et al. 006 lausen ork isr Ati la t gui rratial isr uts irig llarati a aligt 008 eballos et al. 0. arss t ) isr Ati la utlis atis t staaris urra itrig ts t l asssst ulatis arss rr sits la als ustralian freshwater fish are also in decline because of a wide range of human activities itiis t irta lig a triallig stti sur tius su as 00. ncreasing agriculture, river regulation, habitat degradation and overfishing have contributed iluig aglr ilt sit t lgitii r ttr irati urra to ustralian freshwater fish abundance declining to an estimated 0% of the level of preuropean ulatis ar ila itras illis ) ulati ata ar still rlatil settlement 00 oehn intermans 0. total of species of freshwater fish are sar t atial st assssts Australia is sts a lassii urra listed as threatened in ustralia intermans 0, with 6 of these being listed as nationally populations in each state and territory as ‘undefined’ largely because of lack of information et al. threatened by the ustralian ociety for ish iology intermans 06, and 8 under the ct et al. ) . maor problem for threatened species rehabilitation is chronic underfunding almford et al. 00 oseph et al. 00, and failure to allocate sufficient resources for management can result urra art t ritia ail is a largi ratr is itras ) in the species never being delisted, or even etinction intermans 0. urra sa auall a rital i srig as a rss t risig atr tratur irasig a lgt a i s ass a iras i atr ll r t al iits artal urray cod Maccullochella peelii) is Australia’s largest obligate freshwater fish, growing to .8 m ar ggs a uil is r aru as la la ) i st Australia and 0 kg nderson et al. intermans 00. urray cod is endemic to the urrayarling ritis urra ar largl star aus ratrs tat rr t sit a ait r asin , and is widely considered to be important culturally, ecologically, recreationally, and r ) r its ilu is rustaas ists a ussls r economically. urray cod is important culturally to many inland indigenous nations, where it was an urra a r larg uts a a t at atr irs atr rags important food source, and features prominently in some boriginal lore, where it is linked with the turtls rgs rts sas a ssus la r ) star creation of the iver urray owland 00. urray cod is an ecologically important species as an aiur iit urra a tat t ar usuall lsl assiat it sllig ape predator in the bner 006, and is also an iconic recreational angling species enry aras a strutur tat gis t r su as rs a surg tir urut as yle 00. istorically, urray cod once supported a large commercial fishery owland 8 a ragig gtati r rts itras et al. owland 00, however it is now economically important largely because of recreational angling la itras ) where it has been estimated to contribute more than 6 million and more than 0 obs to the ictorian economy alone in 0080 rnst oung 00. t is widely recognised that urray cod raitial assi is salig ts su as gill ttig ar rlatil iti r aturig have declined in abundance for more than a century annevig 0 akin esteven 8 urra itras ) as t star aiur as tat is rarl utr ts adwallader ooley 8 owland 8 umphries 00. eclines in urray cod abundance Ati is atur tius su as ltrisig il si ar rlatil sussul r have been attributed to overfishing as well as the creation of barriers to movement, habitat loss, aturig urra l i t lla ssts t et al. ) and changes to natural flow regimes including thermal pollution earney ildea 00 intermans r t iggrait r als a s riaria aras strai ula rirs hillips 00 intermans 00 herman et al. 00 00 arwick et al. 0. a at ltrisig iiult r issil sutl urra ulatis i lla irts ar ll stui Ars et al. s tuart et al. ) il eclining populations of urray cod have led to the species receiving focussed management rlatil littl is aut t sis i ula ssts attention, and in 00 the species was nationally listed as threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999. n 00 a national urray cod recovery t assssts r ulati stiats ar sstial r ti trat sis plan was prepared to identify the reasons for decline, current threats and recommend recovery aagt gg et al. al a ) ulati stiats ri a asis r isr actions with the overarching aim to return the species to 60% of preuropean levels within 0 years aagt a srati allra ) allig aagrs t tt trs i of implementation 00. n 0, the urray cod ishery anagement roup produced a aua a tus t ailit t aluat t suss a rr r aagt atis

isr Ati la t gui rratial isr uts irig llarati a aligt arss t ) isr Ati la utlis atis t staaris urra itrig ts t l asssst ulatis arss rr sits la als itiis t irta lig a triallig stti sur tius su as iluig aglr ilt sit t lgitii r ttr irati urra ulatis ar ila itras illis ) ulati ata ar still rlatil sar t atial st assssts Australia is sts a lassii urra populations in each state and territory as ‘undefined’ largely because of lack of information et al.

et al. )

urra art t ritia ail is a largi ratr is itras ) urra sa auall a rital i srig as a rss t risig atr tratur irasig a lgt a i s ass a iras i atr ll r t al iits artal ar ggs a uil is r aru as la la ) i st Australia ritis urra ar largl star aus ratrs tat rr t sit a ait r r ) r its ilu is rustaas ists a ussls r urra a r larg uts a a t at atr irs atr rags turtls rgs rts sas a ssus la r ) star aiur iit urra a tat t ar usuall lsl assiat it sllig aras a strutur tat gis t r su as rs a surg tir urut as a ragig gtati r rts itras et al. la itras )

raitial assi is salig ts su as gill ttig ar rlatil iti r aturig urra itras ) as t star aiur as tat is rarl utr ts Ati is atur tius su as ltrisig il si ar rlatil sussul r aturig urra l i t lla ssts t et al. ) r t iggrait r als a s riaria aras strai ula rirs a at ltrisig iiult r issil sutl urra ulatis i lla irts ar ll stui Ars et al. s tuart et al. ) il rlatil littl is aut t sis i ula ssts

t assssts r ulati stiats ar sstial r ti trat sis aagt gg et al. al a ) ulati stiats ri a asis r isr aagt a srati allra ) allig aagrs t tt trs i aua a tus t ailit t aluat t suss a rr r aagt atis

oseph et al. aell ennings hich is a necessary part of the feedback loop for , and this model can allo for a high degree of data accuracy as scientists can maintain a high adaptie management unge opulation trends can also proide eidence for listing level of control brocchi decisions such as under the ed ist system oseph et al. hich can increase public istorically, citizen science has been undertaen primarily for scientific benefit illerushing et al. concern for conseration oeer there are other important factors for effectie fishery , here community science proects have been effective in advancing scientific understanding management including sieage structure and rates of migrations births and deaths otsford et al. onney et al. itizen science can also reduce sampling costs onrad aoust , hile erkeley et al. ing ethot etel arick et al. alloing for fieldor to be undertaen over larger areas and outside of office hours hitela et Citizen Science al. oever, community science can also play an important educational role in local Public participation in science has been given several different terms including “citizen communities, here community members increase their scientific literacy by actively participating in science”ruger hannon , “community science” arr , “participatory science”, research onrad ilchey community’s scientific literacy can be broadened through “volunteerbased monitoring” illerushing et al. and “communitybased management” greater understanding of scientific processes, or even by an improved understanding of their role in onrad ilchey enerally speaking citien science is the practice of olunteer citiens the environment vans et al. olunteers in communities involved in citizen science engage being actiely inoled in science as researchers ruger hannon and has been occurring more in community development, local issues, and even have greater influence over policymaers since at least atcliff itien science has been successfully undertaken in fields such as than nonvolunteers hitela et al. Polloc hitela ynam et al. itizen astronomy oy et al. ornithology unn inkler ater uality monitoring erbe science also helps to build social capital, by increasing levels of trust and cooperation in communities ilderman and other areas of natural resource management including fisheries anielsen ultana beyaseera through identification of resources, volunteer engagement, agency et al. he citien science literature includes many eamples of these types of programs from connection, and leadership building hitela et al. uilding social capital can lead to a more all oer the orld including urope orth merica sia and ustralia onrad ilchey oy educated community ooper et al. , increase public support for conservation chartz , et al. ulloch et al. yer et al. he use of communitybased monitoring programs as ell as the creation of a steardship ethic hitela et al. around the ecosystem or is groing orldide onrad ilchey oy et al. ulloch et al. ith a near environment tripling of communitybased ater and auatic ecosystem monitoring programs beteen and ommunity science faces some elldocumented challenges hitela et al. onrad aoust err et al. ublic interest in this area has continued to increase substantially since the , hich are mostly centred around to maor themes – organisational issues, and data mid s ore et al. reliability issues onrad ilchey rganisational issues include a lac of funding hitela

here are arying degrees by hich the public are inoled in citien science research and fie et al. and information access ilne et al. , as ell as a shortage of volunteer interest common models are outlined by hirk et al. hese models are contract contribute onrad aoust or netoring opportunities ilne et al. Probably the biggest barrier collaborate cocreate and colleagues hich are listed from least amount of public inolement to to broader adoption of citizen science programs is that the accuracy or uality of the data have greatest ontract participation is here the public asks for scientists to conduct an inestigation traditionally been criticised ouveia et al. onrad ilchey ome studies have and then report on the results hile contribute participation occurs hen the public is asked by reported inaccuracies in volunteercollected data ehfisch et al. de olla et al. , scientists to collect and contribute data or samples ollaborate participation is here the public as particularly hen estimating sizes of groups or individuals ome studies have somehat mitigated ell as collecting data and samples assist scientists in the deelopment stages of a scientific proect inaccuracies through thorough volunteer selection and training asa et al. , and through ocreate participation is hen the public deelop a study ith input and adice from scientists validation have found data to be comparable to professional researchers ore et al. eman hile olleagues participation is independently performed by the public and helps to fill a scientific et al. urthermore onrad ilchey conclude that the benefits outeigh the knoledge gap he ast maority of citien science proects tend to be contributory oy et al. challenges faced by citizen science for those ho have the capacity to address them

, and this model can allo for a high degree of data accuracy as scientists can maintain a high level of control brocchi

istorically, citizen science has been undertaen primarily for scientific benefit illerushing et al. , here community science proects have been effective in advancing scientific understanding onney et al. itizen science can also reduce sampling costs onrad aoust , hile alloing for fieldor to be undertaen over larger areas and outside of office hours hitela et al. oever, community science can also play an important educational role in local communities, here community members increase their scientific literacy by actively participating in research onrad ilchey community’s scientific literacy can be broadened through greater understanding of scientific processes, or even by an improved understanding of their role in the environment vans et al. olunteers in communities involved in citizen science engage more in community development, local issues, and even have greater influence over policymaers than nonvolunteers hitela et al. Polloc hitela ynam et al. itizen science also helps to build social capital, by increasing levels of trust and cooperation in communities ultana beyaseera through identification of resources, volunteer engagement, agency connection, and leadership building hitela et al. uilding social capital can lead to a more educated community ooper et al. , increase public support for conservation chartz , as ell as the creation of a steardship ethic hitela et al. around the ecosystem or environment

ommunity science faces some elldocumented challenges hitela et al. onrad aoust , hich are mostly centred around to maor themes – organisational issues, and data reliability issues onrad ilchey rganisational issues include a lac of funding hitela et al. and information access ilne et al. , as ell as a shortage of volunteer interest onrad aoust or netoring opportunities ilne et al. Probably the biggest barrier to broader adoption of citizen science programs is that the accuracy or uality of the data have traditionally been criticised ouveia et al. onrad ilchey ome studies have reported inaccuracies in volunteercollected data ehfisch et al. de olla et al. , particularly hen estimating sizes of groups or individuals ome studies have somehat mitigated inaccuracies through thorough volunteer selection and training asa et al. , and through validation have found data to be comparable to professional researchers ore et al. eman et al. urthermore onrad ilchey conclude that the benefits outeigh the challenges faced by citizen science for those ho have the capacity to address them

s s s s  sin the mar recature data from electrofishin and volunteer anler surveys to ’s ss et al. uantify local abundance of urray cod in the urrumbidee iver within the T ss s sss s s ss s s n chater use catch er unit effort to comare cature rates of standard boat electrofishin s s s s surveys tareted habitat boat electrofishin surveys and volunteer anlerbased surveys for urray – s s s s cod Throuh semistructured interviews followin an adative theory aroach to analysis ayder s – et al. ayder then investiate the initial and continuin motivations for volunteers to et involved in fishery research chater dditionally in this chater mae recommendations to s s s s sss roect desiners about how to limit volunteer attrition rates for onoin fishery research rorams s s Esox masquinongy ss s n chater use mar recature data from chater to estimate local ersite urray cod s s s abundance in the uer urrumbidee iver in the T usin arov hain onte arlo s sss s s Acipenser transmontanus methods fitted into a ayesian framewor These three data chaters are written as standalone s s s et al. s aers meant for future ublication in eerreviewed ournals and because of this there is some sss s s s et al. necessary reetition throuhout the thesis s s s et al. s Tor s et al. s ss Carcharias Taurus et al. s s s s s ss s s s s ss s s ss s s s

Aims This master’s thesis is based on two years of field research into survey methods and volunteer s s s sss s s s s s ss s ss s s s s s s s s s

 s s s s ss  volunteer’s motivation for initial and continued involvement in s s

 sin the mar recature data from electrofishin and volunteer anler surveys to uantify local abundance of urray cod in the urrumbidee iver within the T

n chater use catch er unit effort to comare cature rates of standard boat electrofishin surveys tareted habitat boat electrofishin surveys and volunteer anlerbased surveys for urray cod Throuh semistructured interviews followin an adative theory aroach to analysis ayder ayder then investiate the initial and continuin motivations for volunteers to et involved in fishery research chater dditionally in this chater mae recommendations to roect desiners about how to limit volunteer attrition rates for onoin fishery research rorams n chater use mar recature data from chater to estimate local ersite urray cod abundance in the uer urrumbidee iver in the T usin arov hain onte arlo methods fitted into a ayesian framewor These three data chaters are written as standalone aers meant for future ublication in eerreviewed ournals and because of this there is some necessary reetition throuhout the thesis

Chapter 1 Using recreational anglers to monitor an iconic threatened species: a comparison with conventional electrofishing

1.1 Abstract urray cod Maccullochella peelii is a nationally listed threatened secies as well as the most souhtafter recreational freshwater anlin secies in southeastern ustralia urray cod ecoloy is well studied in the lowlands of the urrayarlin asin however little research has been conducted in uland environments This is in art because of the difficulty of usin traditional survey methods boat electrofishin in the rocy hih radient and narrow ore country of uland rivers ith rowin confidence in citien science and increasin interest from recreational anlers to be involved in the manaement of their fishery there is an oortunity to develo novel costeffective volunteer samlin techniues This study used volunteer anlers across si lonterm conventional monitorin sites in the uer urrumbidee iver in the T to cature and ta urray cod durin three events in mmediately followin the anlin surveys researchers conducted boat electrofishin surveys allowin a cature efficiency comarison of the two samlin techniues cross all three samlin events urray cod were catured by anlers in anlin hours while urray cod were catured by electrofishin in hours ‘power on’ time nled fish lenth raned from mm to mm total lenth T median mm while electrofishin catured fish from mm to mm T median mm iftyone fish catured by electrofishin were uvenile urray cod smaller than all anled fish lthouh anlin is a less efficient cature method when used in conunction with traditional survey techniues it could rovide a basis for increasin the satial etent and freuency of samlin for future monitorin rorams articularly in uland rivers

1.2 Introduction lobal biodiversity is diminishin at an unrecedented rate in human history because of a wide rane of anthrooenic activities imm et al. lausen or ora ale iro et al. eballos et al. cauley et al. iodiversity loss alone can reatly affect the functionin of ecosystems alvanera et al. ardinale et al. orm et al. tachowic et al. ardinale et al. and as a conseuence society ardinale et al. Terrestrial and marine secies reortedly declined in abundance by around between and while freshwater secies declined by lausen or ish are one of the ey taa in decline on a lobal scale with a peak in the biomass of fish caught from the world’s oceans (known as “peak fish”) being passed in the late 1980s. Since then, global fish catch has continued to

Chapter 1 Using recreational anglers to monitor an iconic threatened species: a comparison with conventional electrofishing

decrease in the face of growing fishing effort (lausen ork 008). onseratie estimates suggest where oer million people (1. population) participate annuall in recreational fishing (aker that 0 of global freshwater fish populations were alread etinct or in serious decline b the earl 01). 1990s, (ole eid 199) and this trend is unlikel to hae improed since then. he freshwater urra cod Maccullochella peelii (itchell) is Australia’s largest wholly freshwater fish, growing to fish biodiersit crisis is likel to escalate with economic growth (lausen ork 008), and when 110 kg and 1800 mm (intermans 00). urra cod is endemic to the urraarling asin coupled with the fact that freshwater ecosstems lose biodiersit faster than both marine and (), where it plas an important ecological role as an ape predator (bner 00). urra cod is a terrestrial ecosstems (Sala et al. 000), this is of great global concern. sedentar, solitar, ambush predator that is usuall found among comple structure such as timber, ublic participation in scientific research programs is growing worldwide (onrad ilche 011 rocks, or undercut banks (owland 00 oehn et al. 009 ieschke et al. 01). he species once o et al. 01 ulloch et al. 01). here was reportedl a near tripling of citien sciencebased supported a large commercial fisher (owland 1989 owland 00) and is an economicall and water and auatic ecosstem monitoring programs between 1988 and 199 (err et al. 199), and culturall important target of recreational anglers (enr le 00). urra cod angling in public interest in this area has continued to increase substantiall since the mid1990s (ore et al. ictoria alone was estimated to contribute more than 1 million and more than 0 obs to the 001). itien science research programs hae traditionall been used for scientific benefit (iller econom in 00809 (rnst oung 009). urra cod is also iconic to boriginal people, where it ushing et al. 01), as citien science approaches can substantiall reduce sampling costs (onrad was a maor food item for inland nations, and in some boriginal lore it is linked with creation of the aoust 008), while simultaneousl increasing the scope of field sampling (hitelaw et al. 00). ier urra (owland 00). urra cod populations hae been in decline since uropean oweer, the communit itself can also benefit from citien science programs through education, settlement (intermans hillips 00 owland 00), largel as a conseuence of oerfishing and broadened scientific literac, increased polic influence and the deelopment of a stewardship ethic habitat degradation. his decline has led to their national listing in 00 as ulnerable under the for their enironment (hitelaw et al. 00 ans et al. 00 ollock hitelaw 00 nam et nironment rotection and iodiersit onseration () ct. al. 00). oweer, citien science has been criticised for the reliabilit of data collected b n response to declining urra cod populations a national recoer plan was produced with the aim olunteers (onrad ilche 011). Some studies hae shown inaccuracies in olunteercollected of returning the species to 0 of preuropean numbers within 0 ears ( 010). ke issue data, particularl when estimating sies of groups or indiiduals, or when complicated or specialist identified in the national recoer plan was the deelopment of costeffectie sure techniues. euipment are used (ehfisch et al. 00 de Solla et al. 00). hese potential issues can be companion document to the recoer plan is an action plan, prepared b a coalition of fisheries mitigated through appropriate olunteer selection and training (asa et al. 199), and in some cases managers, researchers, and anglers, which identified the desire of anglers to be inoled in the data can be indistinguishable from professionall collected data (ore et al. 001 ewman et al. management of the fisher ( 011). onseuentl, in 01, a asinwide proect to compare 00 er et al. 01). electrofishing to angling for capturing urra cod commenced. urra cod sures were conducted itien science based monitoring proects that target large or iconic fish hae been highl successful b anglers in umares ier in S, oulburn and ens iers in ictoria, ier urra in S, and in the past, particularl in anada. ecreational muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) fishers were asked in this stud in the urrumbidgee ier in . his stud comprises the first published results from to record captures in a diarbased monitoring program in ntario, anada (osind uff 00). the asinwide proect. n addition, olunteers were successfull used in a white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) urra cod is well studied in the lowland sstems of the , but in spite of potentiall significant monitoring program in the lower raser ier, ritish olumbia (elson et al. 01). here are also populations, relatiel little is known about this species in upland enironments (nderson et al. other international eamples of communitbased fisher monitoring (ooke et al. 01), such as 199 ones Stuart 00 oehn et al. 009).his is, in part, because passie sampling techniues arapaima in rail (astello et al. 009), mahseer (Tor sp.) in ndia (ower et al. 01), and sand tiger like gill netting which hae been traditionall used in upland habitats are relatiel ineffectie in sharks (Carcharias Taurus) in the S (ilfoil et al. 01). espite its wide use oerseas, communit capturing urra cod (intermans 000) as the species sedentar, sitandwait behaiour means based monitoring of ke recreational fish species has rarel been emploed in ustralia, a countr the do not often encounter the nets. ctie urra cod capture techniues, such as electrofishing, are well suited to the wide, lowgradient connected pools of lowland sstems (on et al. 01),

10 11

where oer million people (1. population) participate annuall in recreational fishing (aker 01).

urra cod Maccullochella peelii (itchell) is Australia’s largest wholly freshwater fish, growing to 110 kg and 1800 mm (intermans 00). urra cod is endemic to the urraarling asin (), where it plas an important ecological role as an ape predator (bner 00). urra cod is a sedentar, solitar, ambush predator that is usuall found among comple structure such as timber, rocks, or undercut banks (owland 00 oehn et al. 009 ieschke et al. 01). he species once supported a large commercial fisher (owland 1989 owland 00) and is an economicall and culturall important target of recreational anglers (enr le 00). urra cod angling in ictoria alone was estimated to contribute more than 1 million and more than 0 obs to the econom in 00809 (rnst oung 009). urra cod is also iconic to boriginal people, where it was a maor food item for inland nations, and in some boriginal lore it is linked with creation of the ier urra (owland 00). urra cod populations hae been in decline since uropean settlement (intermans hillips 00 owland 00), largel as a conseuence of oerfishing and habitat degradation. his decline has led to their national listing in 00 as ulnerable under the nironment rotection and iodiersit onseration () ct.

n response to declining urra cod populations a national recoer plan was produced with the aim of returning the species to 0 of preuropean numbers within 0 ears ( 010). ke issue identified in the national recoer plan was the deelopment of costeffectie sure techniues. companion document to the recoer plan is an action plan, prepared b a coalition of fisheries managers, researchers, and anglers, which identified the desire of anglers to be inoled in the management of the fisher ( 011). onseuentl, in 01, a asinwide proect to compare electrofishing to angling for capturing urra cod commenced. urra cod sures were conducted b anglers in umares ier in S, oulburn and ens iers in ictoria, ier urra in S, and in this stud in the urrumbidgee ier in . his stud comprises the first published results from the asinwide proect.

urra cod is well studied in the lowland sstems of the , but in spite of potentiall significant populations, relatiel little is known about this species in upland enironments (nderson et al. 199 ones Stuart 00 oehn et al. 009).his is, in part, because passie sampling techniues like gill netting which hae been traditionall used in upland habitats are relatiel ineffectie in capturing urra cod (intermans 000) as the species sedentar, sitandwait behaiour means the do not often encounter the nets. ctie urra cod capture techniues, such as electrofishing, are well suited to the wide, lowgradient connected pools of lowland sstems (on et al. 01),

11 where a oat eletrofisher an sale large lengths of rier n ontrast, the highgraient roy and valley controlled with complex bed morphology ubstrate is typically bed roc, angular gravels, hannels, short ools an ense riarian areas of onstraine ulan systes ae oat cobbles, and coarse sands allbrin et al. hile some sections are considered open valley, eletrofisher aess satially liite oth turiity an inreasing isharge hae een foun to the upper urrumbidgee is typically a lowgradient confined valley with intermittent floodplain negatiely influene ature roaility in lowlan riers yon et al. , howeer little wor has pocets yer et al. here are two significant highgradient confined gorges within this reach een one to uantify these effets in ulan riers igerline orge and ed ocs orge angston

esite urray o eing a nationallyliste threatene seies, it is also an ioni rereational he locations of sampling sites within the study area were limited to specific pools at which a boat angling seies for inlan fishers in southern Australia owlan urray o an e a electrofisher could be safely launched and retrieved ix longterm fish monitoring sites were hallenging fish to angle, an often reuire high leels of sill an effort to ath regularly his selected igure intermans he six sampling sites are relatively evenly spaced along the eans that the urray o fishing fraternity is haraterise y eeriene anglers who are river at m intervals he sites are of varying sie with ngle rossing and oint ut rossing generally onseration aware, an ratie high rates of ath an release reorte y enry being substantially smaller than the other four sites, while Retallack’s Hole is the largest (able yle , despite the species being considered an excellent ‘table fish’ owlan he ale e o salng stes on the Murrudgee ver ‘Xing’ is used as an abbreviation for ‘crossing’ hereafter aailaility of eert an highly otiate anglers roies an eellent founation for a ngle harwa ont ut aah asuarna etallacs artiiatory olunteer researh rogra ng andwash ng ool ands ole

he iffiulties assoiate with aturing urray o using traitional fish surey ethos, their ength , , iconic status amongst recreational anglers, as well as angler’s ability to access remote environments Ma dth aes urray o an eellent aniate seies for trialling a artiiatory ounity aroah to ool ereter , , , , onitoring esite urray o suorting a large rereational fishery, an the uer urace area , , , , , , urruigee ier’s identification as an important cod population , there is no targete urray o onitoring urrently onute in the A his stuy, as art of the roaer national roet, inestigate the use of stanarise olunteer angling to assess urray o oulations in the uer urruigee ier in the A an oare those results to stanar oat eletrofishing uh a oarison will infor future eisions on the aliaility of ounity sienease urray o onitoring in the A

1.3 Methods n a arreature stuy, olunteer anglers were ase to artiiate in three struture urray o angling sureys aross si sites in the uer urruigee ier in the A in oat eletrofishing sureys were onute in the ieiate ays following eah angling surey, an the ature rates of eah tehniue were oare A ayesian analysis was onute on the ar reature ata to estiate the oulation of ault fish at eah site hater

1.3.1 Study area he stuy was unertaen in the uer urruigee ier in the A, whih runs for aroun through the A, an is a tyial southeastern Australian ulan rier with a oleouler e

and valley controlled with complex bed morphology ubstrate is typically bed roc, angular gravels, cobbles, and coarse sands allbrin et al. hile some sections are considered open valley, the upper urrumbidgee is typically a lowgradient confined valley with intermittent floodplain pocets yer et al. here are two significant highgradient confined gorges within this reach igerline orge and ed ocs orge angston

he locations of sampling sites within the study area were limited to specific pools at which a boat electrofisher could be safely launched and retrieved ix longterm fish monitoring sites were selected igure intermans he six sampling sites are relatively evenly spaced along the river at m intervals he sites are of varying sie with ngle rossing and oint ut rossing being substantially smaller than the other four sites, while Retallack’s Hole is the largest (able

ale e o salng stes on the Murrudgee ver ‘Xing’ is used as an abbreviation for ‘crossing’ hereafter

ngle harwa ont ut aah asuarna etallacs ng andwash ng ool ands ole

ength , ,

Ma dth

ool ereter , , , ,

urace area , , , , , ,

cature and tagging rocess, and having two teams er site was thought to romote cometition between teams to increase effort nglers were ased to fish for a minimum of four hours using an techniue the deemed aroriate to the environment and conditions

abe – ates nuber of angers and fishing teas for urra cod anging events hed during

nging ates of ishing ota of

vent ri at un eas ngers

iot 1/0/201 1/0/201 11 22

2/11/201 2/11/201 1 2

1/03/201 1/03/201 20/03/201 13 2

Because of the nature of volunteer wor, it was not ossible to alwas have 2 anglers available for both das of each event (able 2) ome anglers, as well as research staff (all eerienced urra cod anglers) were available to relace last minute unavailabilit of rimar volunteers, to ensure at least one angling team at each site Desite this, onl 22 anglers articiated in the Pilot event, with onl one team fishing at ngle Crossing

igure tud sites boded tet and environenta gauging stations ain tet aong the urrubidgee iver in the ogistics and time constraints largel determined the timing of this angling event, and it was ustraian aita erritor considered that fishing at the etreme end of the closed season would be unliel to affect breeding 1.3.2 Angling surveys fish as revious data demonstrated that the majorit of urra cod sawned in earl ovember in he oerarching methos for this roect were erie from the broaer national roect the stud area (Der et al. 201) “Integrating fishererie an fisheryineenent surey ata to better unerstan an manage ll anglers were briefed in erson two das rior the commencement of each surve event on the the urray o fishery in the urrayDarling Basin” (FRDC Project 2013/022), being conducted at samling rocedure, including best ractice fish handling techniues dditionall, anglers were selecte sites in the in ic, , , an ilot angling eent in the uer given clear instructions that caturing as man fish as ossible was the goal of the roject, rather urrumbigee was hel in ril , an two subseuent angling eents were hel in oember than caturing large fish nglers were rovided with a labelled aerial hotograh of their samling an arch (able erience urray co anglers were hanselecte by the eak site on which to mar aroimate cature location Catured fish were tagged through the soft angling boy for the anberra region, aital Region ishing lliance (R nly eerience co tissue between the sines of the dorsal fin using streamer tags (allrint Pt td, mm,3) anglers (ers comm hane asria, R) were used to minimise the chance of ‘false negatives’ (Figure 2) hese tags consist of a small lastic ribbon with a uniue identification number, and a an to maimise co catures s er the aroach in the national roect, all anglers fishe in needle attached at one end hese tags were chosen because their use is a relativel noninvasive teams of two, with no more than two teams ( anglers er site (maimum of anglers fishing at rocedure which can be erformed confidentl b volunteers with minimal training Catured fish once nglers worke in teams of two to hel reuce hanling time an stress to fish uring the were singletagged in the Pilot and 2nd event as revious studies in ictoria (ers comm Brett

1 cature and tagging rocess, and having two teams er site was thought to romote cometition between teams to increase effort nglers were ased to fish for a minimum of four hours using an techniue the deemed aroriate to the environment and conditions

abe – ates nuber of angers and fishing teas for urra cod anging events hed during

nging ates of ishing ota of

vent ri at un eas ngers

iot 1/0/201 1/0/201 11 22

2/11/201 2/11/201 1 2

1/03/201 1/03/201 20/03/201 13 2

ngling vent 2 was conducted immediatel rior to the end of the C fishing closed season for urra cod (etember 1 – ovember 30) he closed season is intended to rovide rotection to breeding urra cod, when fish ma resorb eggs following cature or handling (Rowland 1) ogistics and time constraints largel determined the timing of this angling event, and it was considered that fishing at the etreme end of the closed season would be unliel to affect breeding fish as revious data demonstrated that the majorit of urra cod sawned in earl ovember in the stud area (Der et al. 201)

ll anglers were briefed in erson two das rior the commencement of each surve event on the samling rocedure, including best ractice fish handling techniues dditionall, anglers were given clear instructions that caturing as man fish as ossible was the goal of the roject, rather than caturing large fish nglers were rovided with a labelled aerial hotograh of their samling site on which to mar aroimate cature location Catured fish were tagged through the soft tissue between the sines of the dorsal fin using streamer tags (allrint Pt td, mm,3) (Figure 2) hese tags consist of a small lastic ribbon with a uniue identification number, and a needle attached at one end hese tags were chosen because their use is a relativel noninvasive rocedure which can be erformed confidentl b volunteers with minimal training Catured fish were singletagged in the Pilot and 2nd event as revious studies in ictoria (ers comm Brett

repeating the process he first boat electrofishing sure at each site was conducted following the standard method shots, distributed proportionall b area of aailable habitats outlined b the ustainable iers udit aies et al. , which is the de facto standard for electrofishing in southern ustralia he second electrofishing sure targeted liel urra cod habitat, such as submerged timber, and oerhanging egetation oehn roo obertson intermans et al. owland intermans n response to low recapture rates of mared fish in the ilot and nd sampling eents additional targeted habitat electrofishing shots were completed immediatel after both runs in the rd eent at all sites where phsical area allowed able nl one electrofishing run at each site could be completed during the ilot eent because of maor euipment failure ote that because of the small phsical sie of the pool at oint ut rossing, there were no maor differences between methods and the targeted habitat sures – this pool was sampled in its entiret

– ilot

– – arg – – arg

aptured fish were tagged, measured total length mm and released as per the angling sures igure ish were not tagged during the final targeted cod habitat sures of each eent and because the short life of the ribbon tags would hae rendered them unsuitable for between 1.3.3 Electrofishing surveys eent marrecapture analsis he start and end times of each electrofishing shot shot elapsed time, rather than 90 seconds of ‘power on’ time) was also recorded 1.3.4 Data analysis ish capture data from all angling and electrofishing sures was compared using catch per unit sec ‘power on’ shots per site, with one full run at each of the six sites being completed before effort was calculated as number of fish captured per hour of effort ngling effort was calculated per anglerhour, ie the effort for a team of two fishing for hours was calculated as

– ilot

–

– arg

–

– arg

1.3.4 Data analysis ish capture data from all angling and electrofishing sures was compared using catch per unit effort was calculated as number of fish captured per hour of effort ngling effort was calculated per anglerhour, ie the effort for a team of two fishing for hours was calculated as

hors of tota effort his was chosen as oth aners in a team can fish independent of each other, and in some cases on one aner from a team participated in a particar session ectrofishin effort was cacated in two different was first as the tota time that eectric crrent was appied Retallack’s ie sm of the nmer of eectrofishin shots 90 seconds) o provide a ‘fairer’ comparison with 1 the anin methods when the amont of actie fishin time is nnown, ie how on a re is 5 1 5 ein actie fished in the water), eectrofishin effort was aso cacated as the sm of the tota eapsed time of each eectrofishin shot difference etween start and end time), and mtipied the eectrofishin team sie two personne) 1 4 5 1

s the are amonts of ero data ioated the norma distrition assmption for parametric 1 11 1 5 testin, differences in amon technies and sites was inestiated sin nonparametric

rsaaace tests in eeopment ore eam 00), and sinificant treatments were 4 4 1 1 1 inestiated in posthoc anasis sin nonparametric nn ests sin onferroni corrections) 14 1 ish enth comparisons etween technies were anased sin twotaied icoon ran sm 1 4 1 1 tests in 5 1 4 5 1 4 arometric pressre data was otained from the straian rea of eteoroo o) wesite 1 4 41 14 for the anerra irport station 0)rea of eteroo 0) or tridit, water 1 4 1 11 temperatre, and stream dischare data were otained from oa 0), and were recorded at Halls Crossing, which is approximately 14.5km downstream of Retallack’s Hole on the rrmidee ier ire ) he effect of enironmenta ariaes on anin were cross all three events rray cod captred y electrofishing ranged in total length from mm to inestiated sin inear reression anasis in imaot stat oftware, an ose, ) 15 mm igre , while angled fish ranged from 5 mm to 114 mm igre . ngled fish were significantly larger mean mm, median mm than those captred y electrofishing 1.4 Results mean 44 mm, median 5 mm ilcoxon rank sm test p.1. rond one third n5 of tota of 9 rra cod were captred across a three sampin eents, with 9 of those caht electrofished individals were veniles mm, while only 1 fish 5 mm was angled in this sie eectrofishin and tareted comined) and anin ae ) he owest nmer of range. ore than half n of fish captred y electrofishing were nder 4 mm. he sie class of fish captred oth technies was drin the iot eent, when there were aso no recaptres mm was the only sie class in which more fish were captred y angling n than y notin that on one eectrofishin rn was competed in the iot eent) he reatest nmer of electrofishing n4. fish captred anin was in ent n), whie the reatest nmer captred eectrofishin was in ent n) ent had the reatest nmer of recaptred fish with 9 rra cod were captred eectrofishin at a sites and drin a eents, and there were fish recaptred at a sites ecept for oint t rossin n contrast, rra cod were captred aners at a sites, t not drin a eents

Retallack’s

5 1 5

1 4 5 1

1 11 1 5

4 4 1 1 1

14 1

1 4 1 1

5 1 4 5 1 4

1 4 41 14

1 4 1 11

cross all three events rray cod captred y electrofishing ranged in total length from mm to 15 mm igre , while angled fish ranged from 5 mm to 114 mm igre . ngled fish were significantly larger mean mm, median mm than those captred y electrofishing mean 44 mm, median 5 mm ilcoxon rank sm test p.1. rond one third n5 of electrofished individals were veniles mm, while only 1 fish 5 mm was angled in this sie range. ore than half n of fish captred y electrofishing were nder 4 mm. he sie class of mm was the only sie class in which more fish were captred y angling n than y electrofishing n4.

here was no significant difference etween mean C of each electrofishing method within events rskalWallace χ.11, 1, p.4 or across events rskalWallace χ.11, 4,

p.1 igre 5. However, there was a significant difference in in the length of fish captred y R mean 415. mm and targeted electrofishing srveys mean 4. mm ilcoxon rank sm test p.. he scale for C on the axis is sstantially larger than it was for angling C igre 4.

e – et eec a c cate a al a a elects acss tee eets as s te sae a here was no significant difference in electrofishing C etween methods rskalallace chi here was some variation in mean catch per nit effort across events for angling, with vent sared., 1, p. or events rskalallace chisared5., 4, p. when having a greater nmer of fish than oth the ilot and vent igre 4, however the difference effort was calculated as elapsed time (as opposed to ‘power on’ time), and corrected for a two was not significant rskalWallace χ5., , p.4. he very low scale of C on the person research team igre . Calclating C for electrofishing as elapsed time rather than axis for angling shold e noted. poweron sstantially redces the C for electrofishing, and althogh it is still higher than angling, it is now possile to plot the two methods on the same scale.

e ea catc e t et s e al eac eet

here was no significant difference etween mean C of each electrofishing method within events rskalWallace χ.11, 1, p.4 or across events rskalWallace χ.11, 4, p.1 igre 5. However, there was a significant difference in in the length of fish captred y R mean 415. mm and targeted electrofishing srveys mean 4. mm ilcoxon rank sm test p.. he scale for C on the axis is sstantially larger than it was for angling C igre 4.

here was no significant difference in electrofishing C etween methods rskalallace chi sared., 1, p. or events rskalallace chisared5., 4, p. when effort was calculated as elapsed time (as opposed to ‘power on’ time), and corrected for a two person research team igre . Calclating C for electrofishing as elapsed time rather than poweron sstantially redces the C for electrofishing, and althogh it is still higher than angling, it is now possile to plot the two methods on the same scale.

Catc per unit effort for angling was calculated for eac our of te da and altoug tere are no ere was some ariation in mean electrofisin across sites (iure ), wit oint ut obious peak capture times for fising across all tree eents no fis were captured from pm to rossin and nle rossin ain fewer fis tan te rest of te sites is difference was found to pm despite tere being at least teams ( anglers fising (igure e sinificant (rusalWallace χ, , p), oweer postoc analsis found te onl significant interaction was between Point Hut Crossing and Retallack’s Hole (Dunn’s multiple comparison test p)

ere was some ariation in mean anlin across sites (iure ), wit ama ool, oint ut rossin, and nle rossin lower tan te oter sites oweer, tere were no sinificant differences etween an sites (rusalWallace χ, , p)

Catc per unit effort for angling was calculated for eac our of te da and altoug tere are no obious peak capture times for fising across all tree eents no fis were captured from pm to pm despite tere being at least teams ( anglers fising (igure

ere was some ariation in barometric pressure between eents wit te Pilot eent aing te igest pressure ( Pa and ent aing te lowest pressure ( Pa (igure e most consistent barometric pressure was during ent were it remained between Pa and Pa trougout ere is no relationsip between barometric pressure and angling CP in an of te tree eents (Pilot R p ent R p ent R p

ere was some ariation in turbidit between eents wit te most turbid water obsered in te

Pilot wile ent ad te least turbid water (igure ere is no relationsip between turbidit and angling CP in ent (R p or ent (R p e water temperature was substantiall lower during te Pilot eent tan it was during te oter oweer tere was a significant relationsip in te Pilot (R p two eents (igure ltoug tere is some ariation between eents tere is no correlation

e water temperature was substantiall lower during te Pilot eent tan it was during te oter two eents (igure ltoug tere is some ariation between eents tere is no correlation

between water temperature and angling CP in an eent (Pilot R P ent using ‘shot elapsed’ time as a fairer comparison than ‘power on’ time, and corrected for the two R P ent R P person electrofising team reuired to complete te sures ile tis reised electrofising comparison greatl reduced electrofising catc rate it was still substantiall iger tan te catc rate of angling is is not unepected as electrofising sould capture an fis witin te radius of te electric field (appro m around te boat wile angling can onl target fis tat are aggressie towards te lure

ere was no significant difference between te capture rates of R and argeted abitat metods during electrofising sures is was unexpected because of Murray cod’s close association with comple structural abitat (Rowland oen et al. iescke et al. wic means tat metods targeting suc abitat could be epected to delier iger catc rates is teor is consistent wit electrofising sures in lowland sstems were R metods captured low numbers of urra cod (DC bner et al. t ma be tat in spatiall restricted (narrower sallower areas like upland streams tat te R sampling effectiel samples all cod preferred abitat ile tere was no significant difference in capture rates between R and 1.5 Discussion argeted sures te argeted sures caugt significantl larger fis tan te R metods is is stud presents te first publised comparison of electrofising and angling for urra cod could suggest tat smaller fis are using different abitat to tat usually considered to be ‘preferred’ capture sures in ustralia e results are informatie oweer te direct comparison of effort in abitat – suc as timber rocks oeranging egetation (Rowland bner intermans suc disparate metods is potentiall problematic wen capture data is normalised to CP oen et al. ince uenile urra cod are ulnerable to cannibalism (Humpries (intermans t first glance electrofising was a substantiall more efficient tecniue tan tese indiiduals could be using different abitat to aoid tis – a beaiour found in nortern pike angling capturing around tree times te number of fis in onl of te ourl effort (Esox Lucius (kl Different sie classes of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus ae also been Detectabilit (dept false negaties sie range of urra cod still reuires furter researc found to occup different abitats in response to teir different predation risk (ittelbac particularl in upland sstems ggressieness influence of enironmental factors on electrofising e angling sures were biased towards capturing larger fis likel because fisers were asked to detection and localscale moement could all influence te detectabilit of urra cod and wile emplo an angling tecniues te liked and tere is usuall a tendenc for recreational fisers to tis as been studied in lowland sstems (on et al. little is known about it in upland target large trop fis is would also be reinforced b te minimum legal sie limits for urra abitats cod ( mm for recreational anglers t ma be possible tat smaller and uenile fis would be Comparison of te raw capture data can be misleading and does not cone te considerable catcable if anglers emploed different tecniues suc as reducing lure sie or b using bait t ma differences between tecniues in resourceselapsed time reuired to collect te data n basic total also be possible tat te smaller fis are using different abitat to te larger fis and anglers ma effort calculations tere was times more effort put into te angling sures and tis angling not ae been targeting tese areas or future stud tis issue could be raised wit anglers prior to effort was concentrated oer one weekend wile te electrofising sures took considerabl fising eents n contrast te electrofising sures were biased towards smaller fis wit one longer (mean of das to complete urtermore it was not possible to measure te actie fising tird of te total number of fis captured b electrofising being uenile fis smaller tan mm time (ie te time a lure is actiel working in te water so een toug anglers were asked to note in lengt is bias towards smaller fis contrasts wit eisting literature tat suggests tat te peak an breaks taken during teir sampling ours (for lunc etc using total time spent at te rier is an power reuired to immobilise fis decreases wit increasing fis olume (Dolan iranda oerestimate of actual sampling effort or tis reason we inestigated electrofising capture rates ile tis means tat larger fis are easier to immobilise once te are witin te effectie electric

using ‘shot elapsed’ time as a fairer comparison than ‘power on’ time, and corrected for the two person electrofising team reuired to complete te sures ile tis reised electrofising comparison greatl reduced electrofising catc rate it was still substantiall iger tan te catc rate of angling is is not unepected as electrofising sould capture an fis witin te radius of te electric field (appro m around te boat wile angling can onl target fis tat are aggressie towards te lure

e angling sures were biased towards capturing larger fis likel because fisers were asked to emplo an angling tecniues te liked and tere is usuall a tendenc for recreational fisers to target large trop fis is would also be reinforced b te minimum legal sie limits for urra cod ( mm for recreational anglers t ma be possible tat smaller and uenile fis would be catcable if anglers emploed different tecniues suc as reducing lure sie or b using bait t ma also be possible tat te smaller fis are using different abitat to te larger fis and anglers ma not ae been targeting tese areas or future stud tis issue could be raised wit anglers prior to fising eents n contrast te electrofising sures were biased towards smaller fis wit one tird of te total number of fis captured b electrofising being uenile fis smaller tan mm in lengt is bias towards smaller fis contrasts wit eisting literature tat suggests tat te peak power reuired to immobilise fis decreases wit increasing fis olume (Dolan iranda ile tis means tat larger fis are easier to immobilise once te are witin te effectie electric

field, it could be possible that larger mature fish are more liely to be trapshy – that is more adept urbidity is also considered among ustralian angling fraternities to affect capture rates especially at eading the electric field before immobilisation rapshyness is a wellestablished principle of for lure fishing ith highly turbid ater traditionally reported as resulting in loer capture rates animal capture reen et al. radel anguilar , and fishes are no exception ls et eddes offman urbidity has been found to negatively affect the predation success al. hite et al. t could also be that recreational angling minimum sie limits are of primarily visual feeding fish adke aupisch and as shon to be negatively correlated influencing the population sie structure larger fish being remoed by angling, and a length ith angling capture rates in argemouth ass in the renner et al. n contrast e freuency analysis of Murray cod in lowland systems has preiously demonstrated this icol et al. found a significant positive relationship beteen turbidity and in the ilot event suggesting espite the arious potential biases, electrofishing caught a larger sie range of the that capture rate increased with turbidity. It is unlikely that this is truly the case and it’s probable population, while the angling techniues employed by this study are really only suitable for that this relationship is skeed by outliers and lo capture rates in this event n general though the sureying the postuenile Murray cod population least turbid ater as associated ith the greatest number of captures vent hile the most turbid ater as associated ith the loest number of captures ilot urbidity is a somehat raditionally, fishermen cite a number of enironmental ariables as haing an effect on their sitespecific variable that is dependent on here and hen precipitation occurs as ell as the capture rates onentional fishing wisdom suggests that dawn and dus are the most productie location of a tributary’s confluence. Site specific measurements were not available in the current angling times tarling lasson et al. , and it was notable no angling captures were study and in some cases the measurements from the available gauging station did not alays match recorded between pm and pm hile the literature suggests that feeding of many fish tends to the angler’s onground observations. For example anglers at Retallack’s Hole during vent reported decrease as light leels decrease yder rippel eil toner , this traditional highly turbid ater likely as a result of heavy sediment load carried by the olonglo iver hoever angling folklore is likely related to the increase in a fish’s locomotion as light decreases toner the donstream alls rossing gauging station recorded relatively lo turbidity levels t is uite his increase in locomotion could allow fish to encounter bait or lures at higher freuencies likely that this disparity is ust a delay in the sediment reaching the gauging station and later and in places they would not hae occupied during higher light leels turbidity measurements from the station support this eplanation ow barometric pressure is usually considered to produce slow capture rates for anglers Mcill here as some variation in the number of fish captured by angling in each event although there oefs , with ha often considered the lower point at which fish are more as no significant difference in beteen events his variation is not eplained by any of the susceptible to angling reed oweer, a rapidly changing barometer eg rapidly dropping as environmental variables investigated t is possible that the timing of an event could have an effect a storm approaches is sometimes also anecdotally reported as associated with good fishing on capture rates as vent as conducted shortly after spaning and closed season some fish conditions illoughby he results of this study are not consistent with these hypotheses as may have been more aggressive or be less ‘lure shy’ after a prolonged period of reduced angling both the highest and lowest barometric pressure occurred during the ilot eent, and the most pressure his theory is supported by ls et al. here intensity of recreational angling captures and most consistent pressure readings occurring during ent oweer, the ery low correlated ith alterations in the vulnerability of fish through both learning and selection imilarly pressure obsered in the first days of ent may hae contributed to the low capture rate ost et al. found that angling as less successful proportional to the distance from a human raditionally, fishermen also describe colder water temperatures reducing capture rates for most population centre urthermore the sampling sites in the current study ere selected for ustralian natie target species including Murray codtarling lasson et al. his is accessibility hich means that a number of sites receive a high amount of regular angling pressure consistent with the literature which suggests that colder water could result in a reduction in a ambah ool is an ecellent eample of an easily accessible site ith high levels of human visitation temperate fish’s ability to capture prey or avoid predation hilds larson emple including angling pressure covern intermans espite its large sie and habitat ohnston Myric ech odd et al. his is also consistent with our results, with availability there as a relatively small number of fish captured by angling compared to other sites the lowest temperatures and lowest number of captures obsered during the ilot eent as ell as hen compared to the electrofishing surveys at ambah ool t is likely that a combination of some or all of these factors ill affect capture rates making it difficult to isolate any one environmental condition as having a substantial influence t ould be possible to reduce the

urbidity is also considered among ustralian angling fraternities to affect capture rates especially for lure fishing ith highly turbid ater traditionally reported as resulting in loer capture rates eddes offman urbidity has been found to negatively affect the predation success of primarily visual feeding fish adke aupisch and as shon to be negatively correlated ith angling capture rates in argemouth ass in the renner et al. n contrast e found a significant positive relationship beteen turbidity and in the ilot event suggesting that capture rate increased with turbidity. It is unlikely that this is truly the case and it’s probable that this relationship is skeed by outliers and lo capture rates in this event n general though the least turbid ater as associated ith the greatest number of captures vent hile the most turbid ater as associated ith the loest number of captures ilot urbidity is a somehat sitespecific variable that is dependent on here and hen precipitation occurs as ell as the location of a tributary’s confluence. Site specific measurements were not available in the current study and in some cases the measurements from the available gauging station did not alays match the angler’s onground observations. For example anglers at Retallack’s Hole during vent reported highly turbid ater likely as a result of heavy sediment load carried by the olonglo iver hoever the donstream alls rossing gauging station recorded relatively lo turbidity levels t is uite likely that this disparity is ust a delay in the sediment reaching the gauging station and later turbidity measurements from the station support this eplanation

here as some variation in the number of fish captured by angling in each event although there as no significant difference in beteen events his variation is not eplained by any of the environmental variables investigated t is possible that the timing of an event could have an effect on capture rates as vent as conducted shortly after spaning and closed season some fish may have been more aggressive or be less ‘lure shy’ after a prolonged period of reduced angling pressure his theory is supported by ls et al. here intensity of recreational angling correlated ith alterations in the vulnerability of fish through both learning and selection imilarly ost et al. found that angling as less successful proportional to the distance from a human population centre urthermore the sampling sites in the current study ere selected for accessibility hich means that a number of sites receive a high amount of regular angling pressure ambah ool is an ecellent eample of an easily accessible site ith high levels of human visitation including angling pressure covern intermans espite its large sie and habitat availability there as a relatively small number of fish captured by angling compared to other sites as ell as hen compared to the electrofishing surveys at ambah ool t is likely that a combination of some or all of these factors ill affect capture rates making it difficult to isolate any one environmental condition as having a substantial influence t ould be possible to reduce the

potential impact of environmental variables on capture rates by increasing the number of events has, particularly for sampling upland systems, is the wide spatial range anglers can cover, whether over a longer period of time. on foot or in a small watercraft (kayakcanoefloat tube, anglers can cover almost any environment. Importantly, involving recreational anglers in the management of their own fishery offers benefits to he differing pool sies between upland and lowland rivers in the needs consideration. he raw the community as a whole through education and broadened scientific literacy which can lead to number of captures during angling surveys in this study is higher than those found in angling surveys greater policy influence and the development of a stewardship ethic for the resource (hitelaw et in ictoria as part of the asinwide proect rett Ingram Fisheries ictoria unpublished data. al. vans et al. Pollock hitelaw ynam et al. . However, it is well However despite observing a greater number of captures the of angling surveys in this study established that to achieve these benefits (and ongoing volunteer participation, volunteers need to are lower than those in ictoria rett Ingram Fisheries ictoria unpublished data. In contrast the feel that their data are valued and helpful (tadel elson hitelaw et al. tenekes raw number of captures as well as the of electrofishing surveys in this study is substantially ahlvist . lower than in Victoria’s electrofishing surveys. In some cases, the small size of a pool (e.g. Point Hut rossing did not allow for a difference between SR and argeted electrofishing surveys as the A number of measures could increase the value of the data from angling surveys. irstly, using long entire pool could be sampled within the SR shots. It is likely that this has also affected angling term tags to mark captured fish would allow anglers to conduct surveys over a greater time period. as smaller pools could probably be fished by two anglers as effectively as four anglers could. his would reduce the influence of environmental variables, but also allow potentially lureshy fish a his could result in the smaller pools being oversampled by both angling and boat electrofishing. longer ‘cool down’ period which could also result in more recaptures. In addition, with an increase in spatial extent, anglers would have more opportunity to fish further from population centres which Increasing habitat complexity is generally associated with higher abundance in fish ngel atricio should lead to better angling conditions (Post et al. Als et al. . treamer tags were used eda rski et al. and habitat can affect the capture efficiency of electrofishing ayley in this study for their ease of application by volunteers with minimal training, and so introducing usten yon et al. . hile there was some variation in electrofishing across sites longerterm tags will likely reuire additional training of volunteers. A longerterm comparative the only significant difference was between Point Hut Crossing and Retallack’s Hole. Although Point study could also be used to ‘calibrate’ data from angling and electrofishing surveys, and allow for the Hut rossing was only the second smallest site it did appear to have the least amount of habitat data to be ‘corrected’. ocusing the bulk of angling effort on periods where the water is warmer, and complexity and availability of all the sites and is also close to public access and the closest site to an using the start of the open season when fish should be least likely to exhibit trapshy behaviour, urban area and would expect to see relatively high angling pressure. Conversely, Retallack’s Hole could also increase the capture rate of angling surveys. y downsizing lures and targeting all forms of was the largest site and appeared to have a large amount of habitat complexity relative to the other habitat (rather than only traditionally preferred habitat, as well as giving clear instructions to study sites. Retallack’s Hole is also a relatively large distance from easy public access, and would anglers that monitoring is not interested solely in large fish, angling surveys could likely capture a expect to see less angling pressure than most other study sites. hese are all factors that likely larger size range. hile the training component did emphasise this issue, particularly for vent and contributed to the differences of observed at these two sites. 3, it’s probably an issue that should have been made more energetically from the beginning at the espite its relatively low capture rate and greater variability across events when compared to same time as stressing the need to record breaks and fishing effort regardless of capture results. It electrofishing angling as a survey method still has a number of direct advantages worth considering may have been worthwhile investing more time into the training component to drive these issues – namely cost effort and spatial extent. Firstly the time it takes to complete angling surveys is home, however it was already difficult to get all the anglers together for the short period in this substantially less than the time reuired for a small research team to complete electrofishing study, and further involvement from the participants would likely have reuired an additional surveys. large team of anglers can complete surveys at all sites simultaneously while the research incentive of some sort. team could only complete surveys at around two sites per day. he cost of using volunteer anglers Participatory communitybased fish monitoring programs have been highly successful in the past, for surveys is ust a fraction of the cost of electrofishing surveys. hile anglers can sample fish from with the muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) fishery in Canada being an excellent example. a range of depths electrofishing is only effective within the capture range of the electric field m Recreational anglers were asked to record captures of muskies in a diarybased monitoring program and so is ineffective at depths outside this range. However probably the greatest advantage angling

has, particularly for sampling upland systems, is the wide spatial range anglers can cover, whether on foot or in a small watercraft (kayakcanoefloat tube, anglers can cover almost any environment. Importantly, involving recreational anglers in the management of their own fishery offers benefits to the community as a whole through education and broadened scientific literacy which can lead to greater policy influence and the development of a stewardship ethic for the resource (hitelaw et al. vans et al. Pollock hitelaw ynam et al. . However, it is well established that to achieve these benefits (and ongoing volunteer participation, volunteers need to feel that their data are valued and helpful (tadel elson hitelaw et al. tenekes ahlvist .

A number of measures could increase the value of the data from angling surveys. irstly, using long term tags to mark captured fish would allow anglers to conduct surveys over a greater time period. his would reduce the influence of environmental variables, but also allow potentially lureshy fish a longer ‘cool down’ period which could also result in more recaptures. In addition, with an increase in spatial extent, anglers would have more opportunity to fish further from population centres which should lead to better angling conditions (Post et al. Als et al. . treamer tags were used in this study for their ease of application by volunteers with minimal training, and so introducing longerterm tags will likely reuire additional training of volunteers. A longerterm comparative study could also be used to ‘calibrate’ data from angling and electrofishing surveys, and allow for the data to be ‘corrected’. ocusing the bulk of angling effort on periods where the water is warmer, and using the start of the open season when fish should be least likely to exhibit trapshy behaviour, could also increase the capture rate of angling surveys. y downsizing lures and targeting all forms of habitat (rather than only traditionally preferred habitat, as well as giving clear instructions to anglers that monitoring is not interested solely in large fish, angling surveys could likely capture a larger size range. hile the training component did emphasise this issue, particularly for vent and 3, it’s probably an issue that should have been made more energetically from the beginning at the same time as stressing the need to record breaks and fishing effort regardless of capture results. It may have been worthwhile investing more time into the training component to drive these issues home, however it was already difficult to get all the anglers together for the short period in this study, and further involvement from the participants would likely have reuired an additional incentive of some sort.

Participatory communitybased fish monitoring programs have been highly successful in the past, with the muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) fishery in Canada being an excellent example. Recreational anglers were asked to record captures of muskies in a diarybased monitoring program

in ntario, anada osindy uffy . Similarly to Australia’s Murray cod fishery, musellunge providing access permits electrofishing euipment and field assistance. acknowledge the proect is a naturally rare, largebodied predatory freshwater fish which reuires great sill and dedicated funders – R con ater and the nstitute for Applied cology. hank you to Rhian lear for his time to capture regularly. his has resulted in a large cohort of musellunge anglers who are contribution and epertise in the field. Shane aspria RA was instrumental in selecting and conservation aware, practise high rates of catch and release, and are dedicated to the management coordinating volunteers. uge thanks to all the participating anglers without which this proect of the species ooe et al. err . preestablished group of highly motivated and could not have eisted and also to those who generously supplied pries for each angling event. eperienced anglers such as these provides the ideal base for developing a participatory fish monitoring program. ong term use of anglers has previously provided useful data for fishery management in Australia as well. ‘Basscatch’ involves recreational anglers targeting ustralian bass Peraclates novemaculeata and has been held on the awesburyepean iver biannually since rowns ames . Recreational Murray cod capture data from the Lake Mulwala ‘cod classic’ has also been used to inform fishery management ar .

espite being substantially less efficient in terms of than electrofishing, using volunteer anglers to survey urray cod in upland systems has shown some promise. s both techniues have advantages and disadvantages, it is liely that any future urray cod monitoring programs developed for the would benefit from using both electrofishing and angling surveys. espite being a robust techniue for capturing a large sie range of the urray cod population, electrofishing simply cannot be used in vast stretches of upland streams where boat access is not feasible. he high cost of electrofishing and the constraints on fisheries agencies monitoring budgets can also limit the temporal freuency at which electrofishing can be deployed. s there was no significant difference in the capture rate of the methods and argeted surveys, it may be possible to use the overnment’s longterm fish monitoring program see intermans as part of an anglersupplemented targeted urray cod monitoring program. It could also be possible to conduct angler surveys prior to this overnment monitoring to obtain longterm mar recapture data for ongoing local persite population assessments. o increase the spatial scale of these per site population estimates, it would be beneficial to use longerterm tags such as dart or I tags which would allow marrecapture studies to be undertaen by anglers in almost any part of the river. lthough outside the scope of this research, further study should include a thorough analysis of costings to truly uantify the cost differences between citien science initiatives and traditional survey methods.

1.6 Acknowledgements normous thans to my supervisory panel ssociate rofessor ar intermans, en roadhurst, ssociate rofessor iona yer and ssociate rofessor aci chirmer for their guidance, support, and patience throughout this study. reat thans to ars and onservation esearch for

3 providing access permits electrofishing euipment and field assistance. acknowledge the proect funders – R con ater and the nstitute for Applied cology. hank you to Rhian lear for his contribution and epertise in the field. Shane aspria RA was instrumental in selecting and coordinating volunteers. uge thanks to all the participating anglers without which this proect could not have eisted and also to those who generously supplied pries for each angling event.

Chapter 2 Maintaining citizen scientist involvement in longterm monitoring projects: An Australian case study of monitoring populations of Murray Cod

2.1 Abstract conservation of a valued fish species. Participants’ motivations changed as participation continued,

2.2 Introduction et al. et al. et al. et al. a number of names, including ‘community science’, ‘public participation in science’, ‘community

Chapter 2 Maintaining citizen scientist involvement in longterm monitoring projects: An Australian case study of monitoring populations of Murray Cod

2.1 Abstract conservation of a valued fish species. Participants’ motivations changed as participation continued,

2.2 Introduction et al. et al. et al. et al. a number of names, including ‘community science’, ‘public participation in science’, ‘community

based monitoring’, and ‘citizen science’ ruger hannon arr onrad ilchey on ongoing monitoring, or involve high levels of training of volunteer citizen scientists. igh levels of illerushing et al. , this paper uses the term ‘citizen science’ as this is perhaps the most dropout can increase the cost of research, through reuiring greater investment in training new commonly used term, and as it refers specifically to nonscientists being engaged in scientific volunteers on a regular basis (avan et al. tenees ahlvist . his can threaten the activity. viability of longterm monitoring if a stable and ongoing base of volunteer scientists is not maintained (iggins rowston otman et al. . hile many studies focus on the ive common models of the varying degree to hich the public are involved in citien science scientific benefits, or in some cases the data reliability issues faced by volunteer science programs initiatives are outlined by hir et al. . hese models, listed from least amount of public (onrad ilchey , few studies have investigated the factors that influence a volunteer’s involvement to greatest, are contract, contribute, collaborate, cocreate, and colleagues. ontract willingness to maintain longterm involvement, and how the citizen science eperience can be participation is here the public ass for scientists to conduct an investigation and then report on designed to better target factors that motivate this ongoing involvement. hile it is clear that it is the results, hile contribute participation occurs hen the public is ased by scientists to collect and worthwhile to evaluate the outcomes of a participatory program, it is also worthwhile to evaluate contribute data or samples. ollaborate participation is here the public, as ell as collecting data the individual and community outcomes that can be achieved. his means that citizen science and samples, assist scientists in the development stages of a scientific proect. ocreate programs tend to focus on two aspects, where biophysical scientists focus on the accuracy and participation is hen the public develop a study ith input and advice from scientists, hile precision of volunteers to undertae research, social scientists tend to investigate aspects colleagues participation is independently performed by the public and helps to fill a scientific influencing the desire to volunteer and the emotional benefits that come from it (yer et al. noledge gap. hile these models are all described as common, the vast maority of citien science otman et al. . proects tend to be contributory oy et al. , and this is liely because this model can allo for a high degree of data accuracy as scientists can maintain a high level of control brocchi . his study, through a series of semistructured interviews with volunteer anglers, aims to determine the reasons fishery research participants volunteer in the first place (initial motivations, as well as From the scientist’s point of view, involving members of the public in research can be of great why they continue to be involved (continued motivation, why they might cease involvement (drop benefit to an individual proect, potentially alloing for an increase in the freuency, duration, area out, and what factors may increase lielihood of dropout. greater understanding of volunteer or scope of fieldor hitela et al. hile simultaneously reducing sampling costs onrad motivations and barriers to ongoing participation can inform more specific design of citizen science aoust . n spite of this, citien science has faced challenges onrad ilchey . ac of activities to minimise volunteer dropout. funding hitela et al. and data reliability concerns have historically been the greatest barrier to ider adoption of community science programs ouveia et al. . ome studies have otivations for and barriers to ongoing volunteer participation were eamined using a case study of found inaccuracies in data collected by volunteers, particularly when ‘estimating’, (e.g. size of groups anglers in ustralia who participated in three rounds of standardised angling surveys as part of a or individual animals, or using complicated or specialist euipment ehfisch et al. de olla et study seeing to estimate local population abundance of a native fish species – urray cod al. .oever, other studies have been able to overcome data reliability concerns, usually by (Maccullochella peelii. urray cod are a nationally threatened ustralian freshwater fish species appropriate volunteer selection, as ell as providing volunteers ith thorough training asa et al. ( , which are challenging to study because of the cost and efficacy of traditional ore et al. eman et al. . his means that in many cases the ey challenge that scientific capture methods. urray cod is an iconic and highly prized recreational angling species remains to achieving success in citien science programs is enabling volunteers to become involved that reuires high levels of sill and dedicated time to capture regularly, which has led to growth of a onrad aoust , and remain involved otman et al. . large cohort of conservationaware recreational anglers. his suggests that citizen science has strong potential to contribute to the future monitoring and conservation of the species. espite groing interest in the use of citien science, many studies have identified that maintaining the involvement of volunteers over time is a significant challenge for citien science eed et al. his paper first reviews what is currently nown about the benefits and costs of engaging in citizen otman et al. hir et al. . ontinued volunteer involvement is important for many science for participants, about motivations for getting involved and staying involved in citizen citien science programs ov et al. Prestopni roston , particularly those that rely science, and about the barriers to remaining engaged in longerterm citizen science activities. he

on ongoing monitoring, or involve high levels of training of volunteer citizen scientists. igh levels of dropout can increase the cost of research, through reuiring greater investment in training new volunteers on a regular basis (avan et al. tenees ahlvist . his can threaten the viability of longterm monitoring if a stable and ongoing base of volunteer scientists is not maintained (iggins rowston otman et al. . hile many studies focus on the scientific benefits, or in some cases the data reliability issues faced by volunteer science programs (onrad ilchey , few studies have investigated the factors that influence a volunteer’s willingness to maintain longterm involvement, and how the citizen science eperience can be designed to better target factors that motivate this ongoing involvement. hile it is clear that it is worthwhile to evaluate the outcomes of a participatory program, it is also worthwhile to evaluate the individual and community outcomes that can be achieved. his means that citizen science programs tend to focus on two aspects, where biophysical scientists focus on the accuracy and precision of volunteers to undertae research, social scientists tend to investigate aspects influencing the desire to volunteer and the emotional benefits that come from it (yer et al. otman et al. .

his study, through a series of semistructured interviews with volunteer anglers, aims to determine the reasons fishery research participants volunteer in the first place (initial motivations, as well as why they continue to be involved (continued motivation, why they might cease involvement (drop out, and what factors may increase lielihood of dropout. greater understanding of volunteer motivations and barriers to ongoing participation can inform more specific design of citizen science activities to minimise volunteer dropout.

otivations for and barriers to ongoing volunteer participation were eamined using a case study of anglers in ustralia who participated in three rounds of standardised angling surveys as part of a study seeing to estimate local population abundance of a native fish species – urray cod (Maccullochella peelii. urray cod are a nationally threatened ustralian freshwater fish species ( , which are challenging to study because of the cost and efficacy of traditional scientific capture methods. urray cod is an iconic and highly prized recreational angling species that reuires high levels of sill and dedicated time to capture regularly, which has led to growth of a large cohort of conservationaware recreational anglers. his suggests that citizen science has strong potential to contribute to the future monitoring and conservation of the species.

his paper first reviews what is currently nown about the benefits and costs of engaging in citizen science for participants, about motivations for getting involved and staying involved in citizen science, and about the barriers to remaining engaged in longerterm citizen science activities. he

ethods used in the case stud citien science roect are then descried he results eaine initial )he primary reason for discontinuation of involvement in citien science (dropout) identified and onoin otivations of articiants as ell as the arriers that iht revent onoin in the limited literature available is competing demands for volunteer time, ith citien science articiation being given loer priority than other time demands (veleigh et al. ) hether engaging in citien science is given high priority can be influenced by a number of factors including poor 2.2.1 Benefits and costs of citizen science communication beteen volunteer and initiating agency, lac of positive reinforcementfeedbac, here are an otential enefits for those involved in citien science research itien science can volunteers’ access to the data, and whether they feel their contribution is valued and helpful (tadel la an iortant role in education throuh articiants ainin a reater understandin of the elson hitela et al. ouveia et al. ). In particular, a volunteer’s ability to scientific rocess or even irovin their understandin of their role in the environent vans maintain a lin to the data they provide has been found to influence future participation (oy et al. et al. onrad ilche olunteers involved in citien science tend to enae ore in ) his lin is largely achieved through effective communication beteen the involved parties, counit develoent and have a reater influence over olic aers olloc hitela hich can sometimes be challenging edual et al () shoed that in fisheries citien science na et al. and this can hel to create a steardshi ethic around an ecosste or programs there are a number of ris areas to the breadon of communication, including a lac of environent hitela et al. itien science also hels to uild social caital increasin rigorous scientific information transfer from scientists to fishers and managers, a fear from fishers levels of trust and cooeration in counities ultana easeera increasin volunteer that management actions ill limit fishing opportunities, preeisting antagonism beteen enaeent irovin aenc connection and leadershi uildin hitela et al. uildin commercial and recreational fisheries, and fishers’ suspicion of science. he relatively small number social caital can lead to a ore educated counit ooer et al. and increase ulic of studies eamining factors leading to dropout highlights the importance of understanding ho the suort for conservation chart citien science eperience can be designed to maintain enthusiasm and commitment to the proect ide rane of factors otivate volunteers to articiate in citien science roects hich var 2.3 Methods oth ithin and eteen sectors of societ o et al. and are influenced individual factors ata on volunteer motivations for initial and continuing involvement in collecting data on urray such as ender ae incoe fail structure and level of indeendence earce err et al. cod abundance ere collected using three rounds of semistructured intervies, conducted otan et al. nderstandin otivation for articiation in citien science can e folloing three angling events on the upper urrumbidgee iver in the ustralian apital erritory colicated ecause of the ide rane of tes of citien science and of enaeent in citien () in emistructured intervies are a common ualitative data collection techniue in science (from full commitment, to occasional ‘dabblers’) roston anot his is further hich intervieers as a series of openended uestions about predetermined topics, and eplore colicated ecause articiants are usuall otivated ore than one factor ordan addic et responses given to each in detail (iles uberman ) y not limiting respondents to a set of al. eed et al. and these factors a chane over tie oce et al. predetermined ansers, semistructured intervies allo participants an opportunity to discuss or he ost coonl recorded otives for volunteers to articiate in citien science roras is raise a ide range of issues (uerbach ilverstein ). Qualitative data focus on people’s lived enthusias coitent and enoent related to the oals of the roect ooe et al. err eperiences and, as such, are ell suited for locating the meanings people place on the events, o et al. his is articularl salient in the contet of fisher research roras here processes, or structures in their lives (iles uberman ) –their perceptions, assumptions, levels of enthusiasm and commitment are largely determined by the overall ‘culture’ of the fishery preudgments, presupposition (an anen ) t is this lived eperience that influences hether ooe et al. err ther coonl identified otivations include coitent to a a person gets involved, and continues to be involved, in citien science processes or these reasons, larer cause or oral dut learnin oortunities reutation ain and recirocit atson et al. semistructured intervies ere deemed to be the most appropriate techniue for this study otan et al. oe eleents in successful citien science roras include enuine perienced urray cod anglers ere recruited through recommendation from the region’s peak acnoledeent of participant’s contriution effective and consistent counication a recreational fishing body () for their angling epertise (to maimise capture rate), hich volunteer’s involvement from the beginning, and the involvement of local respected champions resulted in an entirely male group of participants, aged from their tenties to their sities ver hitela et al. onrad ilche otan et al. edual et al. otan et al.

)he primary reason for discontinuation of involvement in citien science (dropout) identified in the limited literature available is competing demands for volunteer time, ith citien science being given loer priority than other time demands (veleigh et al. ) hether engaging in citien science is given high priority can be influenced by a number of factors including poor communication beteen volunteer and initiating agency, lac of positive reinforcementfeedbac, volunteers’ access to the data, and whether they feel their contribution is valued and helpful (tadel elson hitela et al. ouveia et al. ). In particular, a volunteer’s ability to maintain a lin to the data they provide has been found to influence future participation (oy et al. ) his lin is largely achieved through effective communication beteen the involved parties, hich can sometimes be challenging edual et al () shoed that in fisheries citien science programs there are a number of ris areas to the breadon of communication, including a lac of rigorous scientific information transfer from scientists to fishers and managers, a fear from fishers that management actions ill limit fishing opportunities, preeisting antagonism beteen commercial and recreational fisheries, and fishers’ suspicion of science. he relatively small number of studies eamining factors leading to dropout highlights the importance of understanding ho the citien science eperience can be designed to maintain enthusiasm and commitment to the proect

2.3 Methods ata on volunteer motivations for initial and continuing involvement in collecting data on urray cod abundance ere collected using three rounds of semistructured intervies, conducted folloing three angling events on the upper urrumbidgee iver in the ustralian apital erritory () in emistructured intervies are a common ualitative data collection techniue in hich intervieers as a series of openended uestions about predetermined topics, and eplore responses given to each in detail (iles uberman ) y not limiting respondents to a set of predetermined ansers, semistructured intervies allo participants an opportunity to discuss or raise a ide range of issues (uerbach ilverstein ). Qualitative data focus on people’s lived eperiences and, as such, are ell suited for locating the meanings people place on the events, processes, or structures in their lives (iles uberman ) –their perceptions, assumptions, preudgments, presupposition (an anen ) t is this lived eperience that influences hether a person gets involved, and continues to be involved, in citien science processes or these reasons, semistructured intervies ere deemed to be the most appropriate techniue for this study

perienced urray cod anglers ere recruited through recommendation from the region’s peak recreational fishing body () for their angling epertise (to maimise capture rate), hich resulted in an entirely male group of participants, aged from their tenties to their sities ver

months these anlers participated in three anlin events at si sites in the upper urrumbidee Probing questions were used during the interviews to explore the participant’s responses to ain a iver in the ustralian apital erritory . nlers were reuired to fish in teams of two for a thorouh insiht to their meanin. otes and inferences were made durin and directl after each minimum of four hours durin each event, and to ta and record all captured urray cod as well as interview, and this formed part of the initial analsis process. All interviews were full transcried, record the start and finish times of each anlin session. olunteers also measured captured fish usin the platform oranscrie entle 1. hile transcriin, interviewer oservations noted lenth, and recorded basic local weather conditions. nlers fished in teams of two and were durin interviews were also included in the transcript, focusin on interviewer assessments of assined specific fishin locations see hapter for detailed methods of the anlin events. nlers contet, emerin themes and new areas for eploration. hese were then used to inform and shape were iven an opportunity to nominate locations that they were feasibly able to fish on a iven day, proin uestions in suseuent interview rounds Corin trauss 1. as well as who they would prefer to fish with, and by and lare these preferences were ach interview was thematicall coded ased on ke themes emerin from interviews and accommodated. associated interviewer notes. he codin process followed an adaptive theor approach, which total of interviews were conducted with a total of anlers across the three survey events comines the use of preeistin theor and theor enerated from the data analsis ader 1. able . ll participatin anlers were encouraed to be involved in the interview process before his is often descried as the comination of preconceived and emerent theor ader 5. and after each anlin event. ll interviews were conducted by phone, and recorded usin the istin theor forms the asis for initial codin themes, and these were epanded and altered Android application “Automatic Call Recorder”. Most interviews took around 15 minutes, but ased on the themes that emered from the interview data ader 5. A hierarch of three some lasted loner, up to minutes in one case. different tpes of codes was used open codes, aial codes and selective codes alker Mrick – see ale . irst, open codes were assined to sements of interview tet. hese were then he proect included both volunteer anlers and a small number of professional scientists who were oranised into aial and selective codes, which formed into the core emerent themes of the data. also anlers who assisted with anlin when volunteers were not available. nly volunteers were Codin was performed usin ivo 1 v1..1.. interviewed. ates of participation in interviews after each anlin event varied, with participatin in the first round, in the second round and in the final round. hile no anlers refused to be interviewed, some did not respond to reuests to schedule interviews. o assist participation in interviews, a ift voucher of was offered to those who participated in the third round of interviews to encourae faster participation, and this process was successful in achievin a more rapid response. It could have been possible to achieve a hiher response rate by offerin an incentive like this from the beinnin. Interviews were conducted in the final round until no new themes across all rounds were discussed, a point often referred to as ‘thematic saturation’ ater yles . 1 assionate aout fishin s a passionate eels the have 5 ood ecuse to o fishin anler a role to pla anted to ive ack and want to anted to ive ack ants to e make a 15 1 ants fisher conserved involved in difference anted to tr fisher conservation of fisher research 5 5 elt the had somethin to offer the proect 5 ocial opportunit ocial capital irect enefit 11 ants to learn more ocial learnin nterested in citien science

Probing questions were used during the interviews to explore the participant’s responses to ain a thorouh insiht to their meanin. otes and inferences were made durin and directl after each interview, and this formed part of the initial analsis process. All interviews were full transcried, usin the platform oranscrie entle 1. hile transcriin, interviewer oservations noted durin interviews were also included in the transcript, focusin on interviewer assessments of contet, emerin themes and new areas for eploration. hese were then used to inform and shape proin uestions in suseuent interview rounds Corin trauss 1.

ach interview was thematicall coded ased on ke themes emerin from interviews and associated interviewer notes. he codin process followed an adaptive theor approach, which comines the use of preeistin theor and theor enerated from the data analsis ader 1. his is often descried as the comination of preconceived and emerent theor ader 5. istin theor forms the asis for initial codin themes, and these were epanded and altered ased on the themes that emered from the interview data ader 5. A hierarch of three different tpes of codes was used open codes, aial codes and selective codes alker Mrick – see ale . irst, open codes were assined to sements of interview tet. hese were then oranised into aial and selective codes, which formed into the core emerent themes of the data. Codin was performed usin ivo 1 v1..1..

1 assionate aout fishin s a passionate eels the have 5 ood ecuse to o fishin anler a role to pla anted to ive ack and want to anted to ive ack ants to e make a 15 1 ants fisher conserved involved in difference anted to tr fisher conservation of research fisher 5 5 elt the had somethin to offer the proect 5 ocial opportunit ocial capital irect enefit 11 ants to learn more ocial learnin nterested in citien science

2.4 Results opportunity to increase social capital, and to learn and build knowledge. These motivations are nalsis o interview data ocused on coparing the initial otivations o participants with the discussed below. otivations or aintaining their involveent and barriers to continued involveent he results presented here identi the e thees discussed b the interviewees in these three areas hese indings are then discussed in the context o optial design o the citien science experience in All interviewees epressed a high affinity with the local region or with Murray cod, and this uture counitbased research proects affinity was a principal driver of initial participation.

2.4.1 Participation and drop-out “Murray cod are obviously probably the most fascinating of freshwater species to most people on here was soe teporar participant drop out across the three angling events held over a period the southern side of the east coast. o you know I've always been fascinated with cod fishing.” – o onths with seven anglers not returning ater the irst two events ll o these participants Angler advised researchers that the were unavailable or particular sapling dates and in one case an hile most participants had a strong interest in Murray cod and the local environment, of angler did not participate in the second event ater being involved in the irst and then returned to anglers also expressed a passion for angling itself as a key motivator for their initial participation. “ the proect or the third sapling event lie fisin” – Angler #13. This suggests that the key driver for participants’ initial involvement was a

hile there was soe observed dropout interview data suggest the dropout was not peranent preeisting passion and interest that was relevant to the science involved. In this case this was Participants were ased i the would consider volunteering in citien science proects in the uture angling for an iconic species in an environment that most cared deeply about. This high level of in general i the would consider volunteering or isher research in the uture and whether the enthusiasm underpinned most of the other motives discussed below. would be willing to be involved in future Murray cod monitoring in the ACT. Participants’ responses to these questions were positive with all participants agreeing the would lie to be involved urther ost sipl stated the would be willing to continue participating “Yep, definitely” –ngler Conservation was a strong motivator for most participants of anglers identified a desire to and “Yep, for sure” – nglers ther participants described their otivations or ongoing contribute to the conservation of Murray cod, and some an interest in broader environmental involveent as the answered the question exained urther in the next section conservation, as a primary motivation for participation

“Yeah, most definitely. Like if my recreational fishing can add something to some decent data for “I like getting out there in the environment and having a look at them Murray cod and catching sustainabilit or the uture then that aes perect sense …I've said a couple of times it’s a them and then putting them back, so I'd like my kids to be able to do that. And if I can make sure privilege to be a part o it the research reall reall stoed to be involved in it and hope can that that continues to happen, you know anything that I can do is a good thing I think” – Angler . continue to be as the proect continues or an tie into the uture d love to continue to be hile nearly all participants felt they wanted to give something back to the fishery, five of involved” – ngler anglers more specifically felt that their skillset in angling meant that they had something to offer the

his suggests that the stud experienced transient dropout o volunteers with all volunteers willing proect to participate again in uture even i the had teporaril ceased involveent at soe point in the “I've always volunteered to try and tag fish through ACT fisheries and even some parts of three angling events held or this stud fisheries due to the large numbers of big cod I catch and the inability for them scientists to

2.4.2 Initial motivations effectively electrofish them. o I've always been keen to get into tagging and then this opportunity Motivations for participants’ initial involvement included personal enthusiasm for the study species came up, so I ust took it.” – Angler . or location as well as a sense o oral dut Participants also discussed the proect as an

opportunity to increase social capital, and to learn and build knowledge. These motivations are discussed below.

All interviewees epressed a high affinity with the local region or with Murray cod, and this affinity was a principal driver of initial participation.

“Murray cod are obviously probably the most fascinating of freshwater species to most people on the southern side of the east coast. o you know I've always been fascinated with cod fishing.” – Angler

hile most participants had a strong interest in Murray cod and the local environment, of anglers also expressed a passion for angling itself as a key motivator for their initial participation. “ lie fisin” – Angler #13. This suggests that the key driver for participants’ initial involvement was a preeisting passion and interest that was relevant to the science involved. In this case this was angling for an iconic species in an environment that most cared deeply about. This high level of enthusiasm underpinned most of the other motives discussed below.

Conservation was a strong motivator for most participants of anglers identified a desire to contribute to the conservation of Murray cod, and some an interest in broader environmental conservation, as a primary motivation for participation

“I like getting out there in the environment and having a look at them Murray cod and catching them and then putting them back, so I'd like my kids to be able to do that. And if I can make sure that that continues to happen, you know anything that I can do is a good thing I think” – Angler .

hile nearly all participants felt they wanted to give something back to the fishery, five of anglers more specifically felt that their skillset in angling meant that they had something to offer the proect

“I've always volunteered to try and tag fish through ACT fisheries and even some parts of fisheries due to the large numbers of big cod I catch and the inability for them scientists to effectively electrofish them. o I've always been keen to get into tagging and then this opportunity came up, so I ust took it.” – Angler .

verall hen participants felt a moral oligation to do hat they could to conserve the fishery as “ust what you said efore aout the only fish that were caught were all within that half an hour accompanied y personal enthusiasm the initial motivation to volunteer as particularly strong. window. Anybody who’s done a lot of fishing knows that those little windows occur and then trying to marry up the results with… because you can’t measure your own results as effectively as you can if it’s one component of an overall picture.” – ngler . even participants anted to get involved in the proect to gro their social capital y roadening ome anglers also thought olunteering would e a good opportunity to learn more aout the their netorks and thought it ould e an excellent opportunity to meet other likeminded people iology or ecology of a particular species or enironment: “Or just being able to learn more about “it’s also a chance to meet some new guys … sort of see that theyre fishing on aceook or in the population and fisheries and how it’s all [the waterways] going” – ngler In addition, a newsletters and fishing forums and that, and it’s just a good opportunity to meet new people as numer of participants lied the idea of eing inoled in citien science, and thought that could ell. ick their rains and learn a it more from other people.” – Angler #1. roaden their scientific education.

oever that as not true for all participants. or a small numer having to ork closely ith “ainly just to get inoled in a it of the research side, and maye find out a it more aout the people they did not kno or did not like ould result in their reduced participation “If we were fishery ourseles. ie as rec recreational anglers, you dont always get to e inoled, and you alloated artner I roal would redue future inoleent ue to the fat that there are don’t get to hear a lot aout what’s going on in terms of research and monitoring and that sort of oe eole out there that I don't get along with” – Angler #1. thing. o, yeah it was a it of an opportunity to get inoled in that, and I guess get in a it ehind the scenes on how the monitoring side of things wors.” – ngler n some cases participants preferred it if the citien science opportunity enaled them to gro their existing social capital reinforcing existing social netorks. 2.4.3 Continued motivation hen ased aout factors motiating them to continue participating in angling eents, the same “I’d proaly not e as excited aout eing allocated a partner to fish ith hom the angler did not themes that prompted initial motiation were mostly still present for returning participants. kno as if as ust fishing ith my mates ecause kno can rely upon them and e can talk oweer, an additional theme emerged – indiidual enefit. hile this was often lined to initial aout hatever you kno if ere ust sitting there fishing or hatever... you kno e can talk motiations, continued motiations were typically epressed in more specific ways, which focused aout our lives etc and... so yeah d prefer it if it as fishing ith your mates.” Angler #1. on the enefits the participant was deriing from the process. his was discussed in three main n this case study other than chance meetings on the ater during sampling training nights efore ways: social learningfeedac, improing angling sills, and enjoyment. each event ere the only official proect meetups for the anglers. ome anglers sought to organise additional social opportunities ith fello participants in the form of a dinner after a training night further highlighting the desire of many participants to achieve social enefits from their engagement early all participants descried learning aout the species, the local enironment, and specific in citien science. sills, as motiations for continued participation, focusing on the learning opportunities they saw opening up as a result of their ongoing participation: “and yeah just getting an idea of how healthy the waterways are is something I'd really be keen to find out as a result of all this” – ngler . In Ten participants discussed learning as a motivation. These participants felt that participation in the particular, seeral anglers reported eing motiated y increasing their scientific literacy, through proect provided a good opportunity for them to learn more aout angling. This opportunity as actions such as learning to record data and how to tag fish: “irst of all I'd neer tagged a fish before discussed in to different ays. irst some participants felt it as a good opportunity for social we started this so yeah you know I'e learnt how to tag fish nd I'm learning how to reord data” – learning from their peers: “i their rain and learn a it ore fro other eole.” – Angler #1. ngler . econd some anglers sa an opportunity to learn more aout angling patterns from the results of the fishing events

“ust what you said efore aout the only fish that were caught were all within that half an hour window. Anybody who’s done a lot of fishing knows that those little windows occur and then trying to marry up the results with… because you can’t measure your own results as effectively as you can if it’s one component of an overall picture.” – ngler .

ome anglers also thought olunteering would e a good opportunity to learn more aout the iology or ecology of a particular species or enironment: “Or just being able to learn more about the population and fisheries and how it’s all [the waterways] going” – ngler In addition, a numer of participants lied the idea of eing inoled in citien science, and thought that could roaden their scientific education.

“ainly just to get inoled in a it of the research side, and maye find out a it more aout the fishery ourseles. ie as rec recreational anglers, you dont always get to e inoled, and you don’t get to hear a lot aout what’s going on in terms of research and monitoring and that sort of thing. o, yeah it was a it of an opportunity to get inoled in that, and I guess get in a it ehind the scenes on how the monitoring side of things wors.” – ngler

2.4.3 Continued motivation hen ased aout factors motiating them to continue participating in angling eents, the same themes that prompted initial motiation were mostly still present for returning participants. oweer, an additional theme emerged – indiidual enefit. hile this was often lined to initial motiations, continued motiations were typically epressed in more specific ways, which focused on the enefits the participant was deriing from the process. his was discussed in three main ways: social learningfeedac, improing angling sills, and enjoyment.

early all participants descried learning aout the species, the local enironment, and specific sills, as motiations for continued participation, focusing on the learning opportunities they saw opening up as a result of their ongoing participation: “and yeah just getting an idea of how healthy the waterways are is something I'd really be keen to find out as a result of all this” – ngler . In particular, seeral anglers reported eing motiated y increasing their scientific literacy, through actions such as learning to record data and how to tag fish: “irst of all I'd neer tagged a fish before we started this so yeah you know I'e learnt how to tag fish nd I'm learning how to reord data” – ngler .

our participants also discussed ‘seeing the project through’ as a reason for returning for subsequent “Refining handling techniques might be part of it. Because you're a bit under the pump under events and in particular the final third fishing event: “To see it [the project] through to the end” – pressure to try and get the tag in and get the picture and stuff, but you've got to look after the fish.” Angler and “Well, I like to finish what I start with” – Angler hile this proect had a final date – Angler and returning for the final event would result in a participant ‘finishing what they start’ in that sense, ne participant felt that they improved their angling skills from another eperienced fisherman. it is important to note that most ongoing monitoring programs do not have an ‘end point’. This suggests that it could be important for citien science proects to set specific obectives or goals so “I've fished with him a few times before, he’s very knowledgeable and he's very happy to share his that participants can have a sense of completion. or longer term and ongoing proects this could knowledge. A good sort of affable guy to fish with and I get along with him well, so yeah ..., I always involve setting interim goals so that participants can have a sense of achievement at key stages. learn something fishing with him” – Angler .

owever this was not always the case, with one angler feeling that their fishing had not improved at all. eceiving feedback was described as important to maintaining motivation by several interviewees. eedback on the outcomes of their involvement in the proect assisted participants to feel like they “Cod still elude me and I still have no clue what I'm doing in the way of angling. But I suppose as we were achieving goals and to understand how their involvement fitted into a broader conservation do more of them and a bigger picture is starting to build there's a chance to maybe come up with perspective: some other theories as well, but you know at this point in time I'm finding it very hard to say that I've learnt in this project” – Angler . “veryone wants to hear the results. he best way to get people engaged is to tell them what theyve done has been successful... and by successful ust mean that something has been determined by it not necessarily that they caught fish” – Angler . leven anglers said that enjoyment of previous events was an important motive for them to return ome described a desire for specific types of feedback from the study: for subsequent fishing events

“... I'd love to see some kind of documented record of all of the surveys like the dates the angler “Oh, I enjoyed the first one [angling event]. I think they’re great fun. At the end of the day, I'm going effort the catch rate by anglers and the recapture rate by electrofishing. hat would be fascinating to go fishing anyway, so we may as well try and do it with a bit of purpose.” – Angler for me. d love to see that” – Angler . “Oh, I enjoyed participating and being a part of it last time” – Angler . eedback helped participants to understand how their involvement fits into the broader After a low capture rate and relatively small number of angling hours conducted during the first conservation perspective and ust as importantly provided an opportunity for volunteers to hear angling event, researchers introduced a number of small pries to incentivise anglers to commit that their contribution was valuable and that they were helping to achieve research goals. more time. Most anglers said that the prizes did not affect their fishing: “o, I dont think so I was just keen to fish for soe urra cod” – Angler . owever, four participants thought that the addition of the pries would encourage other participants, and three thought it created a more ine participants felt they were directly improving their angling skills or knowledge by being competitive environment, which they enjoyed involved with the proect. “it probably adds a bit of competition to it, which makes it a bit of fun I guess.” – Angler . “And when everyone else is fishing the same time as us, you're seeing patterns. People are catching fish or people arent catching fish... you know its good to see that youre not the problem theres “Not so much for the pries, but maybe more for a little bit of bragging rights between the guys. something environmental, there's something else.” – Angler Yeah, the prizes... I could take or leave the prizes, but the bragging rights is where it’s at for me.” – Angler

“Refining handling techniques might be part of it. Because you're a bit under the pump under pressure to try and get the tag in and get the picture and stuff, but you've got to look after the fish.” – Angler

ne participant felt that they improved their angling skills from another eperienced fisherman.

“I've fished with him a few times before, he’s very knowledgeable and he's very happy to share his knowledge. A good sort of affable guy to fish with and I get along with him well, so yeah ..., I always learn something fishing with him” – Angler .

owever this was not always the case, with one angler feeling that their fishing had not improved at all.

“Cod still elude me and I still have no clue what I'm doing in the way of angling. But I suppose as we do more of them and a bigger picture is starting to build there's a chance to maybe come up with some other theories as well, but you know at this point in time I'm finding it very hard to say that I've learnt in this project” – Angler .

leven anglers said that enjoyment of previous events was an important motive for them to return for subsequent fishing events

“Oh, I enjoyed the first one [angling event]. I think they’re great fun. At the end of the day, I'm going to go fishing anyway, so we may as well try and do it with a bit of purpose.” – Angler

“Oh, I enjoyed participating and being a part of it last time” – Angler .

After a low capture rate and relatively small number of angling hours conducted during the first angling event, researchers introduced a number of small pries to incentivise anglers to commit more time. Most anglers said that the prizes did not affect their fishing: “o, I dont think so I was just keen to fish for soe urra cod” – Angler . owever, four participants thought that the addition of the pries would encourage other participants, and three thought it created a more competitive environment, which they enjoyed

“it probably adds a bit of competition to it, which makes it a bit of fun I guess.” – Angler .

“Not so much for the pries, but maybe more for a little bit of bragging rights between the guys. Yeah, the prizes... I could take or leave the prizes, but the bragging rights is where it’s at for me.” – Angler

hile nine participants discussed enjoyment of the first fishing events as a factor motivating even participants eperienced clashes with timing of other events, such as other prearranged continuing involvement, not all had a positive eperience in the initial fishing event. In particular, fishing trips, family commitments, and family emergencies, which prevented their involvement in some anglers epressed disappointment in some of the sites and the weather they were asked to one or more of the three fishing events. ontact was maintained with all of these participants, and in fish, with very poor weather during the first fishing event: one case a participant who had missed the second event was able to participate in the third event. However, this highlights timing and a need to ensure participants can miss some events while “It wasn't very eciting being allocated a tiny pool [to fish]. And you know fishing it over and over maintaining longerterm participation. again, […] you know, it did feel a bit silly. There was too much effort in too small an area for any serious fisherman to get ecited” – Angler

“It was just the weather was pretty ordinary. You know, fisherman have fished that part of the river number of participants made cursory mentions that injury or illness might result in their reduced out there for like 45 years and you just know that when the weather is like that it’s umm its hard involvement for any particular event, and in one case this occurred, with a participant suffering an work and I suppose that your confidence levels are down” – Angler injury and having to cancel participation in a fishing event as a result.

hile these eperiences in which fishers had little enjoyment of a particular fishing event did not result in volunteer drop out, they were described as a factor that could potentially reduce ecreational fishers are wellknown to be protective of what they consider to be productive fishing involvement if the negative conditions continued. In this study, weather was good in the second and locations tarling . key demotivational factor discussed by participants was whether fish third fishing events, and care was taken to rotate fishing sites so all citizen scientists had the capture locations would be made public. ince the anglers knew they were collecting mark opportunity for a ‘good’ fishing spot. This may have mitigated the potential negative impact of a recapture data that was going to be used for a urray cod population estimate, there was some single poor fishing eperience on volunteer participations, and highlights the importance of concern that these data might be made publicly available in publications that resulted from the designing citizen science events to enable enjoyment. project. This could result in an undesirable amount of recreational angling in areas shown to hold 2.4.4 Barriers to ongoing participation high numbers of fish. articipants identified a number of factors that would reduce their participation in future events. “but you know if the information [about eact fish locations] was kind of handed out, then that Most of these, such as time management and injuryillness, were factors that would have a might get me out of joint a little bit... I think thats something that might kind of give a negative spin temporary effect on a participant’s motivation. However a number of volunteers also suggested that on things. You know people get a bit funny about that sort of thing” – ngler . one issue publicly releasing fish capture locations would affect their involvement on a more permanent basis. This concern is particularly acute for urray cod. This threatened species is relatively sedentary known to have a small home range, with their movement further reduced by the limited habitat continuity in upland river systems in which the study took place, meaning there is high concern aving preeisting commitments that clashed with proposed dates of fishing events was the most about overfishing if locations of cod populations are publicly identified common barrier to participation cited by interviewees n : “I don't actually like telling people where Im fishing... theres already way too much fishing pressure “Oh, family commitments mainly. But with enough notice that can usually be avoided anyway” – on urray cod, especially in the local region of the urrumbidgee. nd theres way too many Angler . dickheads, just utter dickheads, disregarding the laws and boasting and posting away on acebook and the internet and in magazines saying where they caught their fish.” ngler . “Ahh, just timing, but with enough notice I could get around to it” – Angler .

even participants eperienced clashes with timing of other events, such as other prearranged fishing trips, family commitments, and family emergencies, which prevented their involvement in one or more of the three fishing events. ontact was maintained with all of these participants, and in one case a participant who had missed the second event was able to participate in the third event. However, this highlights timing and a need to ensure participants can miss some events while maintaining longerterm participation.

number of participants made cursory mentions that injury or illness might result in their reduced involvement for any particular event, and in one case this occurred, with a participant suffering an injury and having to cancel participation in a fishing event as a result.

ecreational fishers are wellknown to be protective of what they consider to be productive fishing locations tarling . key demotivational factor discussed by participants was whether fish capture locations would be made public. ince the anglers knew they were collecting mark recapture data that was going to be used for a urray cod population estimate, there was some concern that these data might be made publicly available in publications that resulted from the project. This could result in an undesirable amount of recreational angling in areas shown to hold high numbers of fish.

“but you know if the information [about eact fish locations] was kind of handed out, then that might get me out of joint a little bit... I think thats something that might kind of give a negative spin on things. You know people get a bit funny about that sort of thing” – ngler .

This concern is particularly acute for urray cod. This threatened species is relatively sedentary known to have a small home range, with their movement further reduced by the limited habitat continuity in upland river systems in which the study took place, meaning there is high concern about overfishing if locations of cod populations are publicly identified

“I don't actually like telling people where Im fishing... theres already way too much fishing pressure on urray cod, especially in the local region of the urrumbidgee. nd theres way too many dickheads, just utter dickheads, disregarding the laws and boasting and posting away on acebook and the internet and in magazines saying where they caught their fish.” ngler .

2.5 Discussion olunteer selection was made ased on their eperience as urray cod anglers in an attempt to itizen science lends itself well to proects that reuire a oneoff contribution from olunteers such maimise capture rate. he volunteers were selected through personal recommendation of the as egetation planting or enironmental cleanups howeer many citizen science proects are region’s peak recreational fishing body (CRFA). Although not all participants were members of the longerterm and inole ongoing monitoring. In these cases it is important that attrition of , this lead to an entirely male group of anglers, which may have influenced their responses olunteers is minimised as drop out of olunteers can threaten the iability of a citizen science during the interview process. chlozman et al found more similarities than differences initiatie. etween male and female volunteers in citizen science, and other studies found no differences in the responses of men and women otman et al . evertheless, it may e worthwhile he results of this study suggest that there is a large oerlap between motiations for initial and increasing angler diversity where possile in future studies to help determine or minimise the continued participation. his is likely because the maor driing motiation for participants to influence gender may have on the motivations of volunteers in participatory fishery research olunteer in the first place is centred largely around a preeisting personal interest otman et al programs. , in this case a respondent’s passion for angling, as well as their affinity for a particular species andor place. It is this passion that helps to drie a stewardship ethic and conseuently a desire to any participants also felt a strong moral duty to e involved in conservation initiatives, where they be inoled in conseration initiaties. It is also likely that the actions needed to fulfil those felt as though they could mae a difference. hen this sense of moral duty also accompanied a motivations may change as a person’s engagement in citizen science continues over time. strong preeisting passion for urray cod and fishing, motivation for involvement was particularly strong. hese results suggest that in cases where there is already strong preeisting passion for the In this study motiation was particularly drien by close affinity with the species being monitored activity eing engaged in or the suect eing studied, volunteer engagement and retention is liely and strong interest in fishing. urray cod are often considered an elusie angling species and so to e relatively strong, whereas in situations where there is not a preeisting cohort of passionate reuire high leels of skill and dedicated time to capture regularly. his has led to a large cohort of volunteers, scientists may need to actively encourage and uild this passion to encourage longterm ery passionate anglers who are highly skilled and ery conseration aware. It is likely that this close participation. association with a species is strengthened by the iconic status of urray cod intermans et al . his iconic status is eident in the sheer numbers of urray cod that are released after Another important factor in participants’ initial and continuing motivation was a desire to further capture by recreational fishers despite being considered an ecellent table fish around of develop social capital. lthough most participants new at least one other volunteer angler prior to urray cod are released by recreational anglers in ustralia enry yle . his means that their involvement in the proect, many thought it would e a good opportunity to uild social capital the catch and release urray cod fishery is eceeded in terms of proportion of fish released only utnam y roadening their social networs and meeting other lieminded people. his by sharks and rays and is the highest catch and release freshwater fishery in ustralia enry yle study offered limited social opportunities, and participants actively sought more such as dinners . imilarly many fishers hae a strong affinity for the urrumbidgee ier in the which after training nights. ctive design and use of multiple social opportunities should e designed into holds the only natural population of urray cod in the . ith few other natural or wild i.e. not citizen science, including developing online social networs through mechanisms such as aceoo stocked urban lakes angling options aailable locally many local fishers hae deeloped a strong which can enale participants to interact with other volunteers as well as researchers, to share connection to both the species and place that were the focus of this study. eperiences and discussions.

urthermore nearly all participants felt that the proect offered them a good reason to participate in any participants also discussed a desire to further reinforce eisting social networs with other their hobby when they otherwise may not hae been able to ustify time out of their busy personal participants they already new well. uring this proect, this was achieved through anglers fishing in or family lies. hat is the proect proided an opportunity for olunteers to engage in an actiity teams of two and having an opportunity to state a preferred partner. any of these anglers spent they were passionate about and already actiely sought opportunities to engage in. the maority of a sampling weeend in close contact with a good friend, enaling them to reinforce and uild social capital within their eisting social networs. uture citizen science proects could facilitate these sorts of opportunities y enaling friends or family to spend time together as part of

olunteer selection was made ased on their eperience as urray cod anglers in an attempt to maimise capture rate. he volunteers were selected through personal recommendation of the region’s peak recreational fishing body (CRFA). Although not all participants were members of the , this lead to an entirely male group of anglers, which may have influenced their responses during the interview process. chlozman et al found more similarities than differences etween male and female volunteers in citizen science, and other studies found no differences in the responses of men and women otman et al . evertheless, it may e worthwhile increasing angler diversity where possile in future studies to help determine or minimise the influence gender may have on the motivations of volunteers in participatory fishery research programs.

any participants also felt a strong moral duty to e involved in conservation initiatives, where they felt as though they could mae a difference. hen this sense of moral duty also accompanied a strong preeisting passion for urray cod and fishing, motivation for involvement was particularly strong. hese results suggest that in cases where there is already strong preeisting passion for the activity eing engaged in or the suect eing studied, volunteer engagement and retention is liely to e relatively strong, whereas in situations where there is not a preeisting cohort of passionate volunteers, scientists may need to actively encourage and uild this passion to encourage longterm participation.

Another important factor in participants’ initial and continuing motivation was a desire to further develop social capital. lthough most participants new at least one other volunteer angler prior to their involvement in the proect, many thought it would e a good opportunity to uild social capital utnam y roadening their social networs and meeting other lieminded people. his study offered limited social opportunities, and participants actively sought more such as dinners after training nights. ctive design and use of multiple social opportunities should e designed into citizen science, including developing online social networs through mechanisms such as aceoo which can enale participants to interact with other volunteers as well as researchers, to share eperiences and discussions.

any participants also discussed a desire to further reinforce eisting social networs with other participants they already new well. uring this proect, this was achieved through anglers fishing in teams of two and having an opportunity to state a preferred partner. any of these anglers spent the maority of a sampling weeend in close contact with a good friend, enaling them to reinforce and uild social capital within their eisting social networs. uture citizen science proects could facilitate these sorts of opportunities y enaling friends or family to spend time together as part of

the citien science process. mportantly not all volunteers wished to engage in new social contact in egular feeack an contact with participants coul provie an opportunity for researchers an the proect one of the reasons for low dropout in this study may be because of the choice given to volunteers to uil trust ultana eyasekera or better understand each other’s fishers as to whether they would fish with a partner they already knew or with someone they did perspectives. The relationship etween researchers an volunteers can potentially e strengthene not know previously. his ensured that those who did not wish to have to interact with strangers did or even repaire in cases where they ay have eteriorate anylchuk et al ararino not have to. Mason . Throughout this stuy the relationship etween researchers an participants was largely estalishe an aintaine through the interview process an training efore each event. any participants were motivated by a desire to develop their angling skills via their participation in oe anglers participate in a selforganise pu eal after one of the training sessions in this case the proect through learning from other eperienced anglers. Consistent with Roy et al () this the researchers coul not atten however this coul have provie a goo opportunity to suggests that it is important for citien science proects to provide opportunities for volunteers to strengthen relationships an uil networks etween researchers an volunteers. develop and grow skills and epertise important to them or related to the enthusiasm that motivated their initial involvement. his social learning aspect can be achieved inpart by providing itionally strengthening the relationship etween researchers an volunteers ay have resulte the social capital building opportunities previously mentioned. owever traditional learning in increase participation in the interview process. hile offering a sall gift voucher rewar opportunities are also important through providing formal training in scientific skills as well as sustantially reuce the tie it took participants to conuct the interviews it i not result in new updates on the proect and access to the results of the proect for volunteers. For eample during or ore participants. or future stuy it coul e worth investing ore tie into uiling the this study a number of participants found it educational to hear approimate capture locations relationships with participants through social events eyon the training an eucational events times and techniues from other anglers which they felt could help them to adust their angling conucte in this stuy. This coul also provie further opportunities to soliify the participants under similar environmental conditions in the future. unerstaning of the ajor research goals an ensure that oth researchers an volunteers are working to achieve the. t is possile that strengthening these relationships woul provie a etter Many participants were eager to take part in the final angling event for the project to ‘see it founation on which to uil a counity stewarship ethic ollock hitelaw an through’. This suggests that volunteers are not only motivated by an ability achieve personal goals increase both parties’ awareness of issues affecting the target species. (such as grow skills) but also the achievement of specific obectives of the scientific proect in which they are engaged. hile this proect was relatively shortterm many citien science proects are The priary arrier to participation in this stuy was lack of tie or specifically whether much longerterm and in many cases are ongoing monitoring proects meaning it can be more participants coul prioritise their involveent in the project over other coitents. This is a difficult to ensure participants feel they are achieving specific goals or outcomes. o enable challenging arrier to overcoe. The results suggest that rather than seeking to ensure every participants to eperience this sense of achievement longerterm proects may need to set specific participant can take part in every event it is ore iportant to have strategies for aintaining shorterterm obectives that are completed within shorter periods within the overall proect. For contact with those who ropout teporarily to etter ensure they reenter volunteering an that eample in fisheries monitoring proects this can be readily framed around open and closed angling teporary rop out oes not ecoe peranent eit fro the citien science process. seasons. nterviewees iscusse poor weather the site they were allocate for sapling as well as pries he ability of participants to achieve proect goals is closely tied to the feedback they receive from that create a copetitive environent as factors that affecte their enjoyent uring proect managers. Clear communication between participants and researchers is widely regarded to participation. While having a single experience of a ‘low enjoyment’ event did not lead to dropout be an important factor that underpins volunteer participation in the longterm (Roy et al of the highly otivate volunteers in this project continue low enjoyent coul have one this

Rotman et al ). Feedback also provides good opportunities for participants to learn how their an having poor enjoyent coul have cause rop out of less otivate volunteers. roject involvement fits into a broader conservation contet but also that their contribution is valued and designers should take into account factors that affect a participant’s enjoyment during the actual how they are helping to achieve research goals. Failure to communicate to volunteers about their sapling process where possile. This coul priarily e achieve through scheuling sapling engagement can result in high levels of attrition for citien science proects (tadel elson ).

egular feeack an contact with participants coul provie an opportunity for researchers an volunteers to uil trust ultana eyasekera or better understand each other’s perspectives. The relationship etween researchers an volunteers can potentially e strengthene or even repaire in cases where they ay have eteriorate anylchuk et al ararino Mason . Throughout this stuy the relationship etween researchers an participants was largely estalishe an aintaine through the interview process an training efore each event. oe anglers participate in a selforganise pu eal after one of the training sessions in this case the researchers coul not atten however this coul have provie a goo opportunity to strengthen relationships an uil networks etween researchers an volunteers.

itionally strengthening the relationship etween researchers an volunteers ay have resulte in increase participation in the interview process. hile offering a sall gift voucher rewar sustantially reuce the tie it took participants to conuct the interviews it i not result in new or ore participants. or future stuy it coul e worth investing ore tie into uiling the relationships with participants through social events eyon the training an eucational events conucte in this stuy. This coul also provie further opportunities to soliify the participants unerstaning of the ajor research goals an ensure that oth researchers an volunteers are working to achieve the. t is possile that strengthening these relationships woul provie a etter founation on which to uil a counity stewarship ethic ollock hitelaw an increase both parties’ awareness of issues affecting the target species.

The priary arrier to participation in this stuy was lack of tie or specifically whether participants coul prioritise their involveent in the project over other coitents. This is a challenging arrier to overcoe. The results suggest that rather than seeking to ensure every participant can take part in every event it is ore iportant to have strategies for aintaining contact with those who ropout teporarily to etter ensure they reenter volunteering an that teporary rop out oes not ecoe peranent eit fro the citien science process.

nterviewees iscusse poor weather the site they were allocate for sapling as well as pries that create a copetitive environent as factors that affecte their enjoyent uring participation. While having a single experience of a ‘low enjoyment’ event did not lead to dropout of the highly otivate volunteers in this project continue low enjoyent coul have one this an having poor enjoyent coul have cause rop out of less otivate volunteers. roject designers should take into account factors that affect a participant’s enjoyment during the actual sapling process where possile. This coul priarily e achieve through scheuling sapling

during seasons with more stable and pleasant weather where possible as well as allowing 2.7 Acknowledgments participants to rotate through ‘preferred’ sampling sites. reat thans to m superisor panel ssociate rofessor ar intermans en roadhurst ssociate rofessor iona er and ssociate rofessor aci chirmer ith particular thans for articipants in this study discussed only one factor as likely to result in them stopping participation aci chirmer ho guided me through a process in hich had no preious eperience. normous public release of fish capture locations. ome anglers were concerned that publications resulting thans to all anglers ho participated in the angling ut especiall those ho participated in the from the case study a urray cod population estimate would translate into an unwanted increase interie process. hans also to the proect funders con ater and the nstitute for pplied of recreational angling pressure on locations deemed to have large numbers of fish. his highlights colog. that when the participants have fundamental concerns about the goals or resulting publication of research stopping participation is a real possibility. his is something that should be carefully taken into account by project designers to limit the attrition rate of projects and it can largely be addressed though effective feedback and communication between project managers and volunteers. here is an opportunity for technology such as social media to play role in effective two way communication and education in future research programmes however it is out of the scope of this study.

2.6 Conclusion olunteer dropout can threaten the viability of ongoing citien science projects and keeping volunteers engaged in projects in the long term is often difficult. nderstanding the factors that motivate volunteers to participate as well as the factors that result in demotivation is critical to longterm volunteer engagement. he results of this study provide insight for project designers to actively shape citien science initiatives to encourage longterm volunteer participation.

roject designers need to take into account a wide range of factors and in some cases may need to account for a varying number of demographics when designing citien science programs. he primary factor for project managers to take into account is the characteristics of volunteers that are reuired for longterm participation. n most cases this is largely dependent on the preexisting enthusiasm among the cohort of volunteers. n cases where this enthusiasm is limited it is important for scientists to encourage and build this passion. itien science program designers should provide opportunities for volunteers to build social capital in the form they prefer it whether this is meeting new people or spending time with people they already know. esigners of ongoing projects should set interim goals and provide clear and consistent feedback that gives volunteers a sense of achievement throughout the project lifecycle. ffective communication and feedback also allows maintenance of participation of those who have to temporarily stop participating because of competing demands on their time.

2.7 Acknowledgments reat thans to m superisor panel ssociate rofessor ar intermans en roadhurst ssociate rofessor iona er and ssociate rofessor aci chirmer ith particular thans for aci chirmer ho guided me through a process in hich had no preious eperience. normous thans to all anglers ho participated in the angling ut especiall those ho participated in the interie process. hans also to the proect funders con ater and the nstitute for pplied colog.

Chapter 3 Using mark-recapture data from volunteer angling and electrofishing surveys to estimate local Murray cod populations in the upper Murrumbidgee River, ACT.

3.1 Abstract urra cod are oth a nationall listed threatened species and an iconic target for recreational anglers in southeastern ustralia. he ational urra od ecoer lan identified important populations in the urraarling asin and identified the need to improe collaoration across urisdictions and allo the trial of costeffectie sure methods. pland populations of urra cod are understudied hen compared ith those in loland sstems and there is no targeted urra cod monitoring in the or upland . toc assessments are ital for the effectie management of threatened fish species as the sho trends in aundance hich allo for the ealuation of management actions. his stud used marrecapture data from olunteer angling and oat electrofishing sures fitted into a aesian frameor using aro hain onte arlo methods to estimate local persite populations of urra cod in the . his stud estimates the total population of postuenile urra cod at all sample sites sampled to e eteen and indiiduals. large amount of uncertaint in these estimates from etremel lo recaptures means that results should e treated ith caution hoeer this stud proides the first uantified estimate of a urra cod population in upland sstems and proides a aseline for further monitoring.

3.2 Introduction eclining iodiersit is a gloal ecological prolem llan lecer pars iro et al eallos et al caule et al and freshater ecosstems are declining at alarming rates rsmart et al ollen et al and declining faster than oth marine and terrestrial sstems ala et al . loall freshater fish species declined approimatel eteen and lausen or and conseratie estimates suggest that of gloal freshater fish populations ere alread etinct or in serious decline ole eid . arge freshater fish are in decline for a numer of reasons including enironmental degradation ons et al and loss of spaning haitat arlson onislas as ell as oereploitation either recreational ost et al or commercial fishing egen et al .

toc assessments or population estimates are integral for effectie threatened species management egg et al ale ean . opulation estimates proide a asis for fisheries management and conseration allerman alloing for detection of trends in

Chapter 3 Using mark-recapture data from volunteer angling and electrofishing surveys to estimate local Murray cod populations in the upper Murrumbidgee River, ACT.

aundance and thus the ailit to ealuate the success of an recoer or management actions each state and territory as ‘undefined’ largely because of lack of information e et al e et al

aell ennings oseph et al hich is a necessar part of the feedac loop for here are eistig urra ulati estiates a s this lear a irtat adaptie management unge . opulation estimates hae successfull een used wlege ga ust e aresse t hel us uersta the eetieess a uture internationall to determine aundance trends in ulf of eico sturgeons cipenser orinchus aageet atis desotoi in the uannee ier lorida ine et al and rapaima rapaia sp. in the urra are well stuie i lwla sstes Aers et al es tuart eh maon astello et al . toc assessments hae also successfull een used to determine et al hweer relatiel little is w aut ula ulatis Althugh ula trends in aundance in marine enironments in southern ustralia ith school shars aleorhinus urra ulatis are egiig t reeie re atteti a the uer urruigee galeus unt aler . ier has ee ietiie as taiig a irtat ulati there is arge freshater fish in ustralia are in decline ecause of a numer of humaninfluenced factors targete urra itrig uertae i this area thugh there is se geeral ish including interactions ith alien fish species haitat destruction and flo regulation and oth uit itrig ute see iteras his is i art eause the iiulties commercial and recreational fishing adallader oole ngram et al odd et al assiate with elig traitial ish sure eths suh as gill ettig r sitawait herman et al oehn intermans . he largeodied natie freshater fish fauna reatrs lie urra re reet atie sure eths suh as at eletrishig are of the urraarling asin is dominated the ercichthidae famil intermans and iiult t ut i the arrw highgraiet r haels ula sstes at a numer of these large ercichthids are threatened including all four from the genera eletrishig a l e use i er liite ets water i the uer urruigee ier accullochella, to of hich are from the intermans et al . where the rier a tgrah allws lauh a retrieal a at eletrisher

accullochella peelii is Australia’s largest wholl freshater fish groing to . m and . g A urret la suitale urra sure eths r ula eirets as well as the nderson et al intermans . ndemic to the urra cod once supported a large grwig use itie siee itrig rgras wrlwie ra ilhe et al commercial fisher and toda is an economicall and culturall important target of inland ullh et al ries a asis r eelig a aglerilusie urra itrig recreational fishers enr le oehn odd . t is idel recognised that urra cod rgra suitale r ula sstes er the ausies the urra isher aageet hae declined in aundance for more than a centur anneig ain esteen ru a ultistate ret ee i t iestigate the use agler ata t itr the oland umphries and these declines in aundance hae een attriuted to oer seies As art this ret eerietal arreature urra itrig ata were fishing as ell as artificial arriers to moement haitat loss and changes in the natural flo llete luteer aglers a at eletrishig at si sites i the uer urruigee ier regimes including thermal pollution earne ildea intermans hillips intermans i the A i hater hese ata a e easil use r reseeasee r relatie . n urra cod as listed as ulnerale under the nironent rotection auae aalsis hweer t hel uersta tres i aslute auae a uati the and iodiersit onseration ct and a national recoer plan as suseuentl eetieess a isher aageet atis we shul e ale use this ata r st prepared to identif the reasons for decline current threats and recommend recoer actions assessets hile reseeasee sures a e alie er a greater satial sale t gie . s ell as a plan for conseration and recoer an action plan to inform irati aut rage r istriuti ulati estiates gie re irati er site management of the recreational fisher as also prepared . he recoer plan seh et al a whe ie with a itiesiee arah a e ute er identifies important cod populations in the and oth plans identif the need to deelop and large satial a teral sales trial costeffectie sure techniues e.g. including olunteer anglers. espite the longidentified he ai this stu is t use arreature ata llete r th aglig a eletrishig need for etter information on urra cod populations earne ildea intermans sures t estiate the lal ulati sie urra at si sites i the uer urruigee hillips such data are still relatiel scarce particularl outside of the urra ier. ecent ier i the A national stoc assessments of e ustralian fish stocs hae classified urra cod populations in

each state and territory as ‘undefined’ largely because of lack of information e et al e et al

here are eistig urra ulati estiates a s this lear a irtat wlege ga ust e aresse t hel us uersta the eetieess a uture aageet atis

urra are well stuie i lwla sstes Aers et al es tuart eh et al hweer relatiel little is w aut ula ulatis Althugh ula urra ulatis are egiig t reeie re atteti a the uer urruigee ier has ee ietiie as taiig a irtat ulati there is targete urra itrig uertae i this area thugh there is se geeral ish uit itrig ute see iteras his is i art eause the iiulties assiate with elig traitial ish sure eths suh as gill ettig r sitawait reatrs lie urra re reet atie sure eths suh as at eletrishig are iiult t ut i the arrw highgraiet r haels ula sstes at eletrishig a l e use i er liite ets water i the uer urruigee ier where the rier a tgrah allws lauh a retrieal a at eletrisher

A urret la suitale urra sure eths r ula eirets as well as the grwig use itie siee itrig rgras wrlwie ra ilhe et al ullh et al ries a asis r eelig a aglerilusie urra itrig rgra suitale r ula sstes er the ausies the urra isher aageet ru a ultistate ret ee i t iestigate the use agler ata t itr the seies As art this ret eerietal arreature urra itrig ata were llete luteer aglers a at eletrishig at si sites i the uer urruigee ier i the A i hater hese ata a e easil use r reseeasee r relatie auae aalsis hweer t hel uersta tres i aslute auae a uati the eetieess a isher aageet atis we shul e ale use this ata r st assessets hile reseeasee sures a e alie er a greater satial sale t gie irati aut rage r istriuti ulati estiates gie re irati er site seh et al a whe ie with a itiesiee arah a e ute er large satial a teral sales

he ai this stu is t use arreature ata llete r th aglig a eletrishig sures t estiate the lal ulati sie urra at si sites i the uer urruigee ier i the A

3.3 Methods effes on ne fs oulons nerns e eeon of onseron son markrecature study as undertaken during three samling camaigns at sites in the uer of rou o oe erlne ore n n ool oernen ere e een urrumbidgee ier in the urray cod ere catured during angling and boat electrofishing no rereonl fs sons n e urruee n e oernen sureys and tagged using the methods outlined in hater nglers fished in teams of to for a oeer n ore reen ers fsn lus n e eren of rr nusres e minimum of four hours during a gien eekend here they tagged and measured all urray cod soe urr o usre of e e eslse reroun oulons ou et lectrofishing sureys ere conducted in the days immediately folloing the angling sureys o al ‘runs’ of electrofishing sureys ere conducted er samling camaign ith the first run folloing methods aies et al hile the second run targeted urray cod habitat atured fish that ere smaller than mm ere not tagged to minimise stress to ulnerable uenile fish

see hater for detailed methods

cross three samling camaigns ostuenile urray cod ere catured by anglers in hours hile ere catured by electrofishing in hours total of fish ere recatured across all samling camaigns and all of these ere recatured during electrofishing sureys ith only to haing been first tagged by anglers see hater for detailed results his chater analyses mark recature data from one samling camaign in arch ent see hater

3.3.1 Study Area his study as conducted in the uer urrumbidgee ier ithin the ustralian aital erritory southeastern ustralia i sites that are relatiely eenly saced along the km length of the urrumbidgee ier ithin the and ere all knon to contain urray cod intermans ere chosen for samling igure he si sites are all ools of arying sie able he uer urrumbidgee ier is a tyical southeastern ustralian uland rier ith a cobbleboulder bed and alley controlled ith comle bed morhology ome sections are considered oen alley but the uer urrumbidgee is tyically a logradient confined alley ith intermittent floodlain ockets yer et al ubstrate is bedrock angular graels cobbles and coarse sands allbrink et al reious geomorhic analysis at m interals has determined that the reach is ool habitat yer et al

ince the construction of antangara am and the noy ountains ydroelectric scheme of infloing ater has been dierted from antangara to ake ucumbene as ell as a comlete elimination of sring sno melt and reduction in annual flos of endlebury intermans any years of oor land management and a lack of flushing flos has led to large amounts of sedimentation in some arts of the uer urrumbidgee rskine hich in addition to road crossings and eirs can form maor barriers to fish assage intermans dditionally another seen alien fish secies hae become established in the uer urrumbidgee ier ith undoubted

effes on ne fs oulons nerns e eeon of onseron son of rou o oe erlne ore n n ool oernen ere e een no rereonl fs sons n e urruee n e oernen oeer n ore reen ers fsn lus n e eren of rr nusres e soe urr o usre of e e eslse reroun oulons ou et al

seon s e rol of urn fs urn one seon o elerofsn so le o e renn ss s ssue ese ure roles re e se for ll s ses n lso no loss ours

er ure fs e se s ssne ure sor or ele fs ure se nln urn e frs s u s no reure urn suseuen elerofsn visits would be assigned the capture history of “100” (where each reresens e ure sor of s oeer fs no ure urn nln sures u ure n en recaptured during the subsequent electrofishing visits would have a capture history of “011”. For e ure sor e n re n euon esrn e rol of osern ouoe For example, the equation for capture history “100” would be:

nlnours eso eso pa pe pe

ere pa s e ure rol er our of nln n pe s e ure rol er o elerofsn so eso nlnours s e nuer of ours sen nln urn s n eso n eso re e nuer of elerofsn sos urn s n o e se ere e fs s ure

e frs er n e euon esres e rol of suessful ure nln s e fs s u on e frs s le e renn o ers esre e rol of n unsuessful ure elerofsn refles e ure sor s osere ollon e se eo euons ere ree o esre e ure rol o refle

e of e oer osere ure sores n on o ese ure sores ere s lso n unosere ure sory of “000”, which 3.3.2 Data Analysis reresens fs ere resen en loon u ere no ure urn n s e e ol n osuenle ol len oulon se of urr o e sle rol of s ouoe n lso e lule usn e rore euon se s ese usn e nln sure n elerofsn sure ure one urn one sln n n r en see er osuenle s een efne s on en orse e ure sor of fs e loon rol of for e uroses of s su s s e roe se urr o ure s o unnon reers a n e s ure roles lule fro onl eoe ulnerle o snr nln enues ossee unul os e fro s e osere ures re se ole oro e s uene seres of n orse e nuer of ures n reures fro ree ss o e of e s ses seuonuls (assigned the unobserved capture history “000”) following the method in ole see er s ere ure urn e frs s nln n e nuer of ours sen s en nlun e ure fs ere were a total 250 ‘fish’ (capture histories) nln re ross ses urn e renn o ss fs ere ure o ssoe e se – en ere ere enou seuonuls o nlue ll e elerofsn ere e nuer of seon o elerofsn sos re ross ses s nuls ull resen se euse sln s onfne o ool s euse o ens ere ere o fferen ure roles ssue one s e rol of urn fs s resen se n one our of nln s le o e frs s o e se e

seon s e rol of urn fs urn one seon o elerofsn so le o e renn ss s ssue ese ure roles re e se for ll s ses n lso no loss ours

nlnours eso eso pa pe pe

ere pa s e ure rol er our of nln n pe s e ure rol er o elerofsn so eso nlnours s e nuer of ours sen nln urn s n eso n eso re e nuer of elerofsn sos urn s n o e se ere e fs s ure

n on o ese ure sores ere s lso n unosere ure sory of “000”, which reresens fs ere resen en loon u ere no ure urn n s e rol of s ouoe n lso e lule usn e rore euon

on en orse e ure sor of fs e loon rol of

ure s o unnon reers a n e s ure roles lule fro onl e osere ures re se ole oro e s uene seres of seuonuls (assigned the unobserved capture history “000”) following the method in ole s en nlun e ure fs ere were a total 250 ‘fish’ (capture histories) ssoe e se – en ere ere enou seuonuls o nlue ll e nuls ull resen se euse sln s onfne o ool s euse o

electrofishing is not possible in shallow riffle and run habitats), population estimates have only been generated for pool habitats. Retallack’s his model was fitted in a ayesian framewor using arov hain onte arlo () methods, in (lummer 200) called from v. 2..1 ( evelopment ore eam 200). he model was used to estimate the unnown capture probabilities (a and e), and based on these, the number of pseudoindividuals that were actually present at each site but not captured. n estimate of the total urray cod population at each site was then calculated by adding the number of captured fish to the estimated number of pseudoindividuals present but not captured. 5 credible intervals (the urra cod captured b electrofishing ranged in length from mm to mm while angled range we can be 5 sure the true value lies within) have been calculated. his was repeated with fish ranged from mm to mm igure ngled fish were significantl ilcoon ran all fish 00mm excluded, to estimate the population of postuvenile urray cod at each site. sum test p larger mean mm median mm than those captured b electrofishing mean mm median mm er half n of fish captured b elationships between local population estimate and pool length were investigated using linear electrofishing were mm and of the total were uenile fish mm nglers onl regression in igmalot v12.5 (ystat oftware, an ose, ). opulation extrapolations were captured one fish mm calculated for the entire urrumbidgee iver length in the from the regression equation. hese estimates were also ‘corrected’ to account for the proportion of pool habitat based on a geomorphic study of the maority (m stretch from ngle rossing to downstream of asuarina ands) of the pper urrumbidgee iver, in the (yer et al 201). onpool habitats were excluded from the population estimate as the angling and electrofishing sampling only covered pools. s pools are the preferred habitat for adult urry cod (intermans et al 2005 owland 2005 intermans 200) and pool habitats comprise approximately 5 of the total river length in the (yer et al. 201), this approach to correct the estimate based on pool length provides a benchmar for further studies.

3.4 Results hirteen urray cod were captured by anglers, with captures at all sites except asuarina ands. total of 2 urray cod were captured from the two runs of electrofishing and there were captures at all sites (able ). ll nine recaptured fish were from electrofishing surveys, with only two of those recaptured fish being first tagged by anglers.

ean estimates of total population sie of urra cod per site ranged from – while the total estimated population at all sites ranged from igure he population estimates aried across sites howeer there is large uncertaint and a great deal of oerlap in the credible interals across all sites igure lthough there is still some oerlap there is less uncertaint that oint ut rossing has a lower population estimate compared to all other sites

Retallack’s

urra cod captured b electrofishing ranged in length from mm to mm while angled fish ranged from mm to mm igure ngled fish were significantl ilcoon ran sum test p larger mean mm median mm than those captured b electrofishing mean mm median mm er half n of fish captured b electrofishing were mm and of the total were uenile fish mm nglers onl captured one fish mm

rossin increases rom the ll olation estimates howeer the ncertaint arond the estimates or nle rossin and asarina Sands olations are redced

e states te ttal lat a c e ste te e ee Re Re ts s te cate lat le te lack ts eeset te ea est estate alstcall te estate lat se t te cele teals te tat ttal lat estate te ee eac te s esete ale

– e states te lat stele a c e ste te e ee Re ts s cate lat le te lack ts eeset te ea est estate alstcall te estate lat t cele teals There was a ositie nonsiniicant linear reression p relationshi etween ool lenth Tharwa Sandwash and Rettallack’s Hole remain and estimated olation sie ire with R ranin rom maimm olation estimate to minimm olation estimate

rossin increases rom the ll olation estimates howeer the ncertaint arond the estimates or nle rossin and asarina Sands olations are redced

e states te lat stele a c e ste te e ee Re ts s cate lat le te lack ts eeset te ea est estate alstcall te estate lat t cele teals

There was a ositie nonsiniicant linear reression p relationshi etween ool lenth and estimated olation sie ire with R ranin rom maimm olation estimate to minimm olation estimate

rra cod olation estimate or the whole o the er rrmidee Rier in the T was etraolated sin the reression eation maimm olation oollenth mean olation oollenth minimm olation oollenth and this raned rom to ish Tale This estimate was ‘corrected’ to exclude river habitat other than pools (e riles rns ased on reios eomorhic std o the area er et al orrected rra cod olation estimates in ool haitats raned rom to ish or the whole rier reach

ale talat stele a c lat k eac te ee Re l lat est s te estate te stele a c lat l atats l t te ee Re te

ea a

e elat estate a c lat se a l let te e ee Re at estate

There was a siniicant ositie relationshi etween ool lenth and estimated ostenile l lat est olation sie ire inear reression determined that there were siniicant relationshis

etween ool lenth and the maimm olation R p 3.5 Discussion p oollenth mean olation R esite the acknowleded ncertainties this is the irst std to estimate rra cod olation p oollenth and minimm olation R sie in land enironments Total estimated rra cod olation at all sites raned rom to oollenth ote that these ost enile olation relationshis were stroner than s these are local ersite olation estimates that onl take accont a er small ercentae those o the ll olation estimates o the er rrmidee and onl inclde ool haitats it is loical that the tre olation ale or the entire reach o the er rrmidee Rier in the T is sstantiall hiher lthoh smallscale ersite olation estimates alone are nlikel to allow rra cod stocks in the ACT to become ‘defined’ as a isher as er e et al e et al it roides a aseline olation estimate that will e alale or onoin monitorin and detections o trends in andance

e elat estate stele a c lat a l let te e ee std it is reasonale to assme that larer sites wold enerall contain more aailale haitat or Re cat celats ae lte a astesk ish and this is consistent with other stdies adie et al nermeier Schlosser This is consistent with site oserations with articlar emhasis on the relatiel hih deree o haitat comleit hih reenc o dee water smered rocks and timer weed eds and oer

ale talat stele a c lat k eac te ee Re l lat est s te estate te stele a c lat l atats l t te ee Re te

ea a

at estate

l lat est

3.5 Discussion esite the acknowleded ncertainties this is the irst std to estimate rra cod olation sie in land enironments Total estimated rra cod olation at all sites raned rom to s these are local ersite olation estimates that onl take accont a er small ercentae o the er rrmidee and onl inclde ool haitats it is loical that the tre olation ale or the entire reach o the er rrmidee Rier in the T is sstantiall hiher lthoh smallscale ersite olation estimates alone are nlikel to allow rra cod stocks in the ACT to become ‘defined’ as a isher as er e et al e et al it roides a aseline olation estimate that will e alale or onoin monitorin and detections o trends in andance

nmer o actors ma inlence the ariailit in estimated olation sies etween sites Sites varied greatly in size with Retallack’s Hole and Kambah Pool both having more than three times greater surface area than Point Hut Crossing and Angle Crossing. It’s likely that habitat complexity and aailailit is another actor that inlenced the olation sie at a ien site nel atricio eda rski et al hile haitat comleit and aailailit was not antiied in this std it is reasonale to assme that larer sites wold enerall contain more aailale haitat or ish and this is consistent with other stdies adie et al nermeier Schlosser This is consistent with site oserations with articlar emhasis on the relatiel hih deree o haitat comleit hih reenc o dee water smered rocks and timer weed eds and oer

hanging vegetation) found at Tharwa Sandwash and Retallack’s Hole. Another factor that may The population estimates generated in this study should be treated cautiously as there are large influence a population’s size in a recreational fishery that allows ‘catchandtake’ is its proximity to uncertainties around all estimates, because of the extremely low recapture rates. ish studies, public access for anglers (Post et al Als et al . Casuarina ands and Kambah Pool are particularly in freshwater, can have lowefficiency sampling methods ayley Austen ), and maor public access points to the urrumbidgee River while both Angle Crossing and Point Hut very low recapture rates which can affect model precision and accuracy ine et al ). The low Crossing are only a short walk from public car parks. Retallack’s Hole however, is accessible only recapture rate observed in this study could have been in part because fish exhibited trapshy through private property and Tharwa andwash has been closed to public angling since the early behaviour to both angling and electrofishing), a phenomenon previously observed in fishes White s (ACT overnment . When taking all of these factors into account, Retallack’s Hole et al ), and can be affected by both selection and learned behaviour Als et al ). As appears to be the most likely site of those studied to support the largest population of urray cod urray cod is a longlived species Rowland ), it is likely that learned behaviours such as this and this is consistent with the findings. play an important role in survival. Additionally, recapture methods such as acoustic telemetry tags could provide for a better recapture rate, however it is expensive and the tagging procedure largely ignificant positive relationships were found between pool length and postuvenile population size precludes volunteer involvement. with the mean postuvenile population showing the strongest relationship (R .. As urray cod predominantly occupy restricted home ranges for the maority of the year (Koehn et al The uncertainty around the population estimates was reduced when the model was run with the the species potentially lends itself to scaling up from local persite population estimates to perreach inclusion of only postuvenile mm T) fish, likely because only one fish under this length population estimates. xtrapolation of the postuvenile population from the regression euation mm) was recaptured. xclusion of fish mm T also excludes the possibility that some captured (and correcting to include only pool habitat based on previous geomorphic study resulted in a fish were actually recaptures as no fish captured mm T were tagged to minimise potential population ranging from to (mean urray cod in the urrumbidgee River stress to these uvenile fish. t is also likely that further sampling events across a greater timeframe between Angle Crossing and Retallack’s Hole. These estimates need to be treated with caution as using longterm tags) would reduce the uncertainties around these estimates, and help to mitigate there is considerable uncertainty involved in the initial estimates however they would be the influence of environmental variables. The model in this study used a closed population strengthened by increasing the freuency and number of sites surveyed within the reach where assumption, as there is no immigration or emigration information available in upland environments, possible and increasing the number of recaptured fish. and urray cod are known to be relatively sedentary outside of spawning season oehn et al ). However, given more data and longterm tags, ongoing monitoring could allow for a slightly nly one fish mm T was captured by anglers compared to by electrofishing. This bias different population estimate approach which takes into account additions and deletions from the towards larger fish in angling surveys is likely related to the tendency for recreational anglers to population over time, which may reduce the uncertainty. target larger or trophy fish (Arterburn et al utton eardmore et al . urthermore anglers were asked to employ angling techniues they were confident in so it may be A future monitoring program aimed at monitoring urray cod in upland systems where boat possible that smaller fish would be better represented in the catch if anglers used different electrofisher access is limited, would likely benefit from the increase in spatial scale that techniues such as reducing lure size or using bait. As the sizeage structure of a population is incorporating anglers provides. However, as anglers did not reliably capture fish smaller than important information in effective fishery management (erkeley et al Hsieh et al mm, or recapture tagged fish, electrofishing is still an essential component for monitoring of urray arwick et al the ability of electrofishing to sample a large size range could be important in cod populations. ew sampling techniues can reliably capture the whole size spectrum of a fish future urray cod population monitoring in upland systems. However it is likely that with the species intermans ), and so employing multiple capture methods is likely to be valuable for difficulties in sampling and recapturing small fish and the potential for small uvenile fish to use future monitoring. urthermore, using angling and electrofishing in combination over longer time shallower nonpool habitats (Act ovt unpubl data postuvenile population estimates will remain frames may also reduce the variation because of trapshyness from learned behaviour, and more robust than those which include uvenile fish. environmental variables. Since the aim of threatened species management is to manage a population not ust adults), it would make future monitoring programs more robust to also

The population estimates generated in this study should be treated cautiously as there are large uncertainties around all estimates, because of the extremely low recapture rates. ish studies, particularly in freshwater, can have lowefficiency sampling methods ayley Austen ), and very low recapture rates which can affect model precision and accuracy ine et al ). The low recapture rate observed in this study could have been in part because fish exhibited trapshy behaviour to both angling and electrofishing), a phenomenon previously observed in fishes White et al ), and can be affected by both selection and learned behaviour Als et al ). As urray cod is a longlived species Rowland ), it is likely that learned behaviours such as this play an important role in survival. Additionally, recapture methods such as acoustic telemetry tags could provide for a better recapture rate, however it is expensive and the tagging procedure largely precludes volunteer involvement.

The uncertainty around the population estimates was reduced when the model was run with the inclusion of only postuvenile mm T) fish, likely because only one fish under this length mm) was recaptured. xclusion of fish mm T also excludes the possibility that some captured fish were actually recaptures as no fish captured mm T were tagged to minimise potential stress to these uvenile fish. t is also likely that further sampling events across a greater timeframe using longterm tags) would reduce the uncertainties around these estimates, and help to mitigate the influence of environmental variables. The model in this study used a closed population assumption, as there is no immigration or emigration information available in upland environments, and urray cod are known to be relatively sedentary outside of spawning season oehn et al ). However, given more data and longterm tags, ongoing monitoring could allow for a slightly different population estimate approach which takes into account additions and deletions from the population over time, which may reduce the uncertainty.

A future monitoring program aimed at monitoring urray cod in upland systems where boat electrofisher access is limited, would likely benefit from the increase in spatial scale that incorporating anglers provides. However, as anglers did not reliably capture fish smaller than mm, or recapture tagged fish, electrofishing is still an essential component for monitoring of urray cod populations. ew sampling techniues can reliably capture the whole size spectrum of a fish species intermans ), and so employing multiple capture methods is likely to be valuable for future monitoring. urthermore, using angling and electrofishing in combination over longer time frames may also reduce the variation because of trapshyness from learned behaviour, and environmental variables. Since the aim of threatened species management is to manage a population not ust adults), it would make future monitoring programs more robust to also

understand other demographic information on urray cod populations, such as abundance and Synthesis survival rates of eggs and larvae, uvenile abundance, and number of adults contributing to breeding and recruitment CRT ing ). As it is not possible for recreational anglers to collect this information, a monitoring program that used this kind of approach would need to incorporate both anglers and traditional scientific monitoring methods. This study is the first attempt at estimating urray cod population in an upland river. We estimate that there are between and credible), with the predicted mean being post uvenile urray cod in pools in the upper urrumbidgee River in the ACT. While there are large uncertainties as a result of low numbers of recaptures, and these estimates should be treated with caution, this study provides a basis for fishery managers to see trends in abundance, and thus measure the success or failure of management actions during ongoing monitoring of urray cod. The uncertainties of this study could likely be reduced by using longer term tags or perhaps rojects, this study identified the key motivations for volunteer’s telemetry tags) and increasing the spatial extent and freuency of angling surveys, which should lead to more robust recapture data as discussed in Chapter ). evertheless, it shows that data from volunteer anglerbased surveys, as well as boat electrofishing surveys can be used in conunction for urray cod monitoring in remote upland systems with limited access. 3.6 Acknowledgments acknowledge the support from rof Richard uncan for helping greatly with the population estimate calculations. also acknowledge my supervisory panel Associate rofessor ark

intermans, en roadhurst, Associate rofessor iona yer and Associate rofessor acki Schirmer) for their guidance, support, and patience throughout this study. reat thanks to ACT arks and Chapter 1 Using recreational anglers to monitor an iconic Conservation Research for providing access, permits, electrofishing euipment, and field assistance. threatened species: a comparison with conventional electrofishing acknowledge the proect funders – RC, con Water, and the nstitute for Applied cology. Thank you to Rhian Clear for his contribution and expertise in the field. Shane asprizza CRA) was instrumental in selecting and coordinating volunteers. Huge thanks to all the participating anglers, without whom this proect could not have existed, and also to those who generously supplied prizes for each angling event.

Synthesis

rojects, this study identified the key motivations for volunteer’s

Chapter 1 Using recreational anglers to monitor an iconic threatened species: a comparison with conventional electrofishing

he research in chater one used volunteer anlers across lonterm conventional monitorin he research in this chapter eamined motivations for initial and continued involvement of 16 sites in the uer urrumidee iver in the , to cature and ta urray cod durin three anglers in a volunteer angler program monitoring Murray cod populations in the Australian apital events in mmediately folloin the anlin surveys, researchers conducted oat erritory, Australia. he proect involved three separate angling events over several months, electrofishin surveys at the same sites all lare ools alloin a cature efficiency comarison of enabling eamination of how volunteer motivation changed from initial recruitment to longerterm the to samlin techniues cross all samlin events, urray cod ere catured y anlers participation. hese 16 anglers were interviewed (semistructured interviews) after each angling in angling hours, while 149 Murray cod were captured by electrofishing in 10.6 hours (‘power event, and the data were analysed using an adaptive theory approach (ayder 199 ayder 00), on’ time). A total of 11 Murray cod were recaptured, all during electrofishing surveys. which combines the use of preexisting and ‘emerging’ theory.

omarin such disarate cature methods directly e throuh , as rolematic, and his research in chapter two underlined the importance for proect designers to actively shape otentially misleadin, as has een found in other methods comarisons for ustralian fish e see citien science initiatives to encourage the longterm involvement of participants. t was determined intermans or eamle, altered dramatically deendin on ho effort as measured that initial volunteer engagement in citien science proects was largely driven by a preeisting ith each techniue electrofishin on time vs elased time lso, the sie rane of fish catured y enthusiasm for a species, place, andor activity. n cases where this enthusiasm is limited, it is each samlin method as sinificantly different, ith electrofishin catchin a much larer sie important for scientists to encourage and build this passion. owever, as the proect progressed, rane of fish than anlin hile this research shoed that in terms of catch er unit effort anlin participant’s motivation shifted to include learning, building sills, and social and networing as not as effective hen comared ith oat electrofishin, anlin as a survey method still has opportunities. his means that it is also important for proect designers to provide opportunities for some inherent enefits that electrofishin cannot offer –articularly in uland systems nlin volunteers to build social capital (oy et al. 01), but it is important that these opportunities are surveys can e comleted in a fraction of the timeframe and for a fraction of the cost of oat provided as the type of social interaction desired by individual participants. or eample, some electrofishin surveys oever, most imortantly, anlin also offers the aility to samle fish in participants were looing to broaden their social networs, while others were more interested in remote locations here oat electrofisher access is imossile hile the anlin surveys in this deepening their eisting social bonds – and in some cases participants indicated that getting this study ere affected y environmental conditions to a reater deree than electrofishin, and wrong may have led to reduced involvement. Additionally, it is important to provide clear and anlers ere not ale to relialy cature fish mm , future monitorin rorams ould consistent feedbac that allows volunteers a sense of achievement throughout the proect lifecycle. enefit from the inclusion of oth cature methods urther research should consider includin a ailure to offer clear and effective communication about proect obectives, findings, and thorouh cost analysis to etter comare the to survey methods from an economic standoint achievements is liely to result in volunteer attrition (tadel elson 199).

Chapter 2 Maintaining citizen scientist involvement in long-term Chapter 3 Using mark-recapture data from volunteer angling and monitoring projects: An Australian case study of monitoring populations of electrofishing surveys to estimate local Murray cod populations in the Murray Cod upper Murrumbidgee River, ACT. he use and confidence in citien science rojects is roin orldide onrad ilchey oy opulation estimates provide a basis for fishery management and conservation (allerman 00) by et al ulloch et al , as the involvement of volunteers can allo for an increase in scoe allowing for detection of trends in abundance, which allows managers to evaluate the success of any and freuency of field samlin, hile simultaneously reducin costs hitela et al onrad recovery or management actions (Mawell ennings 00 oseph et al 006). espite potentially aoust oever, many studies have identified that maintainin the involvement of important Murray cod populations occurring in upland systems (M 010), and the long volunteers over time is a sinificant challene for citien science rojects hirk et al eed et identified need for better information on Murray cod populations (earney ildea 001 al otman et al intermans hillips 00), such data are relatively scarce outside of the Murray iver (e et al

he research in this chapter eamined motivations for initial and continued involvement of 16 anglers in a volunteer angler program monitoring Murray cod populations in the Australian apital erritory, Australia. he proect involved three separate angling events over several months, enabling eamination of how volunteer motivation changed from initial recruitment to longerterm participation. hese 16 anglers were interviewed (semistructured interviews) after each angling event, and the data were analysed using an adaptive theory approach (ayder 199 ayder 00), which combines the use of preexisting and ‘emerging’ theory.

his research in chapter two underlined the importance for proect designers to actively shape citien science initiatives to encourage the longterm involvement of participants. t was determined that initial volunteer engagement in citien science proects was largely driven by a preeisting enthusiasm for a species, place, andor activity. n cases where this enthusiasm is limited, it is important for scientists to encourage and build this passion. owever, as the proect progressed, participant’s motivation shifted to include learning, building sills, and social and networing opportunities. his means that it is also important for proect designers to provide opportunities for volunteers to build social capital (oy et al. 01), but it is important that these opportunities are provided as the type of social interaction desired by individual participants. or eample, some participants were looing to broaden their social networs, while others were more interested in deepening their eisting social bonds – and in some cases participants indicated that getting this wrong may have led to reduced involvement. Additionally, it is important to provide clear and consistent feedbac that allows volunteers a sense of achievement throughout the proect lifecycle. ailure to offer clear and effective communication about proect obectives, findings, and achievements is liely to result in volunteer attrition (tadel elson 199).

Chapter 3 Using mark-recapture data from volunteer angling and electrofishing surveys to estimate local Murray cod populations in the upper Murrumbidgee River, ACT. opulation estimates provide a basis for fishery management and conservation (allerman 00) by allowing for detection of trends in abundance, which allows managers to evaluate the success of any recovery or management actions (Mawell ennings 00 oseph et al 006). espite potentially important Murray cod populations occurring in upland systems (M 010), and the long identified need for better information on Murray cod populations (earney ildea 001 intermans hillips 00), such data are relatively scarce outside of the Murray iver (e et al

e et al . he atre data resented in hater an e sed or reseneasene or espite urray cod being nationally threatened CT as well as a highly sought after reatie andane anaysis reatiey easiy hoeer to he nderstand trends in asote recreational species enry yle , and the upper Murrumbidgee’s identification as an andane and antiy the eetieness o any ishery management ations e shod e ae se important cod population CT no targeted urray cod monitoring program currently these data or oation assessments. eists in the ACT. This is in part because of a lac of resources and funding as well as a paucity of suitable boat electrofisher access to remote upland rivers. y including volunteer anglers in a his stdy sed marreatre data rom onteer anging and oat eetroishing sreys itted participatory approach to monitoring it would be possible to increase the spatial etent and into a ayesian rameor sing aro hain onte aro methods to estimate oa er sampling freuency without greatly increasing the costs. As well as these logistical benefits the site oations o rray od in the . his stdy estimates the tota oation o rray od inclusion of primary staeholders anglers in the management of their fishery can only have positive at a sites samed to e indiidas and extraoates these estimates to eteen and benefits by engendering a stewardship ethic and furthering social capital and social learning. Any ostenie rray od in oos in the rrmidgee ier in the . thogh it is not ossie future monitoring proects would also liely benefit from using longerterm fish tags where possible. to estimate the tota rray od andane in the rrmidgee ier in the as oos are the This would reduce the influence of environmental variables on capture rates as well as allow anglers reerred haitat or adt rry od intermans et al oand intermans and to collect marrecapture data in virtually any area of an upland river. This would liely result in a oo haitats omrise aroximatey o the tota rier ength in the yer et al this reduction in the uncertainties of any future urray cod population estimates. This research also estimate roides a enhmar or rther stdies. underlines the importance for designers to actively shape proect design to encourage longterm thogh the o nmer o reatres meant that there ere arge nertainties arond the participation from volunteers but also to help to mitigate the attrition rates that often plague estimates roded in this hater and they shod e treated ith ation it roides a asis or ongoing citien science proects. ongoing targeted monitoring o rray od in and systems. hie the nertainties osered in ngoing urray cod monitoring is essential to understanding how successful management actions this stdy od iey e reded y inreasing the satia extent and reeny o anging sreys are and thus maing it possible to reach the overarching recovery goal of returning the species to in omination ith ongerterm tags it shos that atre data rom onteer angerased of preuropean numbers within years CT . ngoing monitoring proects must sreys an e sed in onntion ith onentiona srey methods sh as oat eetroishing or eist within the time and budgetary constraints of fishery management agencies and where these rray od monitoring in and systems. agencies are often underfunded implementing a participatory approach is logical. Additionally by Thesis Contribution involving the staeholders in the conservation of their fishery conservation and recreational goals he researh resented in this thesis is the irst ished omarison o anging and oat can be monitored and addressed in parallel as the monitoring program progresses. eetroishing sreys or atring rray od as e as the irst estimate o rray od oation sie in an and rier. hie oation estimates rom onteer angerased sreys hae een sed extensiey oerseas to monitor oations o arge ioni reshater ish sh as hite strgeon eson et al and msenge osindy y they hae not een widely employed in Australia’s freshwater environments. The overall angling catch per unit effort . osered in this study was very close to the long term capture rate observed in Canada’s msenge ishery . err . n ontrast the o anging sreys and oat eetroishing in this stdy ere oer than those ondted in itoria as art o the roader mtistate roet rett ngram isheries itoria nished data.

espite urray cod being nationally threatened CT as well as a highly sought after recreational species enry yle , and the upper Murrumbidgee’s identification as an important cod population CT no targeted urray cod monitoring program currently eists in the ACT. This is in part because of a lac of resources and funding as well as a paucity of suitable boat electrofisher access to remote upland rivers. y including volunteer anglers in a participatory approach to monitoring it would be possible to increase the spatial etent and sampling freuency without greatly increasing the costs. As well as these logistical benefits the inclusion of primary staeholders anglers in the management of their fishery can only have positive benefits by engendering a stewardship ethic and furthering social capital and social learning. Any future monitoring proects would also liely benefit from using longerterm fish tags where possible. This would reduce the influence of environmental variables on capture rates as well as allow anglers to collect marrecapture data in virtually any area of an upland river. This would liely result in a reduction in the uncertainties of any future urray cod population estimates. This research also underlines the importance for designers to actively shape proect design to encourage longterm participation from volunteers but also to help to mitigate the attrition rates that often plague ongoing citien science proects.

ngoing urray cod monitoring is essential to understanding how successful management actions are and thus maing it possible to reach the overarching recovery goal of returning the species to of preuropean numbers within years CT . ngoing monitoring proects must eist within the time and budgetary constraints of fishery management agencies and where these agencies are often underfunded implementing a participatory approach is logical. Additionally by involving the staeholders in the conservation of their fishery conservation and recreational goals can be monitored and addressed in parallel as the monitoring program progresses.

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Halern, B., Walbride, ., elkoe, . & ael, ., 200. A lobal a o huan iact on arine Kerr, ., l, ., Lee, . & aio, A., 1. A Profile of olunteer nvironmental onitoring cience ecosystes. , 1, .4–2. DO:10.112science.1144. ational Surve esults. , 1, pp.1–. Hawksworth, D.. & alinArroyo, .T., 1. anitude and distribution o biodiersity. ewood, O10.1000101. T Watson loal iodiersit ssessent aridge niersit ress, Kerr, S.., 200. haracteristics of Ontario musellunge fisheries ase on aridge . volunteer angler iar information. , 1–2, pp.1–. Helan, G.., 200. Fish conseration. guide to understanding and restoring gloal auatic O10.100s10100120. iodiersit and isher resource Island, Washington . Kilfoil, .P., etheree, .., arlson, .K. & Fo, .A., 201. argete atchanelease of Henry, G. & yle, ., 200. ational recreational and indigenous fishing sure, W Fisheries Final Prohiite Shars San igers in oastal elaare aters. , 2, pp.21–2. Reort eries o. 4 FRD roect o. 1. O10.100021.201.10.

oefs, ., 201.s Fishing etter on a ising or Falling arometer https.livestrong.comarticle22isfishingetteronarisingorfallingarometer. ate Accesse 20100

offman, L., 201.Fishing the irt ater. http.fishingmonthl.com.auarticlesispla12fishingtheirtater. ate Accesse 20100

sieh, ., eiss, .S., unter, .., eington, .., a, .. & Sugihara, ., 200. Fishing elevates variailit in the aunance of eploite species. , 11, pp.–2. O10.10nature022.

umphries, P., 200. Spaning time an earl life histor of urra co, itchell in an Australian river. , 2, pp.–0. O10.100s101002.

ngram, .A., arlo, .., urchmore, .., oole, .., olan, S.. & Sanger, A.., 10. hreatene native freshater fishes in Australia–some case histories. , sa, pp.1–12. O10.1111.10.10.t00..

enins, ., 200. Prospects for ioiversit. , 02, pp.11–11. O10.112science.10.

ones, .. & Stuart, .., 200. ovements an haitat use of common carp C an urra co uveniles in a large lolan Australian river. , 12, pp.210–220. O10.1111.1000.200.0021..

oran aic, ., race, ., a, P.L., Lintott, .., aramone, ., urra, P., et al., 201. ala oo otivations of itien Scientists. , 121. O10.A2011021.

oseph, L.., Fiel, S.A., ilco, . & Possingham, .P., 200. Presenceasence versus aunance ata for monitoring threatene species. C , 20, pp.1–1. O10.1111.121.200.002..

oseph, L.., alone, .F. & Possingham, .P., 200. Optimal Allocation of esources among hreatene Species a Proect Prioritiation Protocol. C , 22, pp.2–. O10.1111.121.200.0112..

Kearne, . & Kilea, ., 2001. , anerra, A Applie colog esearch roup, niversit of anerra.

Kerr, ., l, ., Lee, . & aio, A., 1. A Profile of olunteer nvironmental onitoring ational Surve esults. , 1, pp.1–. O10.1000101.

Kerr, S.., 200. haracteristics of Ontario musellunge fisheries ase on volunteer angler iar information. , 1–2, pp.1–. O10.100s10100120.

Kilfoil, .P., etheree, .., arlson, .K. & Fo, .A., 201. argete atchanelease of Prohiite Shars San igers in oastal elaare aters. , 2, pp.21–2. O10.100021.201.10.

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Locke, M., Ellis, A. & Smith, J.D., 2003. Hold on to what you’ve got: the volunteer retention lierare. , , .–.

ner, J.G., Koela, M., Sih, G.., Siany, M..J. & Gill, A.C., . So Many ihe, So ile ie An Oerie o ecen chhyoloical Dicoery in Coninenal Waer. , , .. DO..

yna, ., e Jon, W., Sheil, D., Kano, . & an, K., . A reie o ool or incororain coniy nolee, reerence, an ale ino eciion ain in naral reorce anaeen. , , .. DO.

Lyon, J.P., Bird, T., Nicol, S., Kearns, J., O’Mahony, J., Todd, C.R., et al., 2014. Efficiency of elecroihin in ri lolan rier ilicaion or earin eoral chane in ih olaion J. M. Jech, e. C , , .– . DO.ca.

yon, J., Gonzlezernnez, G., SooGalera, . & GznArroyo, M., . Decline o rehaer ihe an iherie in Selece Drainae o WeCenral Meico. , , .–. DO.DOA..CO.

Male, .D. & ean, M.J., . Mearin rore in S enanere ecie coneraion. , , .–. DO......

an Manen, M., . inin ay o noin ih ay o ein racical. C , , .–. DO..

Maell, D. & Jennin, S., . Poer o oniorin rorae o eec ecline an recoery o rare an lnerale ih. , , .–. DO.. ....

McCaley, D.J., Piny, M.., Pali, S.., e, J.A., Joyce, .. & Warner, .., . Marine eanaion Anial lo in he loal ocean. , , .. DO.cience..

McGill, C., .ner rere CAG McG oen a can o or oer he eec o he aroeer on ih. hihinonhly.co.aaricleilaynerrerecrai cilloenacanooroerheeecohearoeeronih. Dae Accee

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oceedis o te it tetio oeece o eos d Soci edi

usti ode o ectoisi ctice

eet o u od i te ui si e osop ue ites iips –

outees e oitio eio o upid oes

pet e ioet o ssesset o te ppe uuidee ie –

Sciece –

– sctios o te eic iseies Societ –

iseies –

oc ioet –

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:...... ioet oitoi d ssesset – – toner .W. . Effects of environmenta variaes on fish feein ecoo: imications for the erformance of aite fishin ear an stoc assessment. ou o is ioo .–. :...... t ii tetio oeece o Sste Scieces – traer .. ueon . . reshater ioiversit conservation: recent roress an future chaenes. ou o te ot eic etooic Societ .–. :... utana . easeera . . Effectiveness of articiator annin for communit manaement of fisheries in anaesh. ou o ioet eet .– et . :..envman.... Sciece – utton . . ersona an ituationa eterminants of Catchaneease Choice of reshater ners. u iesios o idie .–. :.. o Teme .. ohnston .. . The therma eenence of faststart erformance in fish. e ioo – ou o e ioo .–. :.. et u od ccuoce Terr .. arer .. racht .W. . iita : tions for ounteer nvovement. n e peeii Sttus o usti is stocs epots outee eet doo. ooen : ohn Wie ons nc. . ... et u od ccuoce To C.. an T. ico .. earin .. . The imact of co ater reeases on the critica peeii Sttus o usti is stocs epots erio of ostsanin surviva an its imications for urra co ccuoce peeii peeii: a case stu of the itta itta iver southeastern ustraia. ie esec d e ppictios .–. :.rra.. outee oito S ioet otectio ec ice o te sito S – Trie E.. ei ... . Effects of hotoerio an iht intensit on roth an activit of uvenie haoc eous eeius. qucutue – .–. :..

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rsmart C.. . oa Water esources: uneraiit from Cimate Chane an ouation roth. Sciece .–. :.science....

rsmart C.. cntre .. essner .. ueon . rusevich . reen . et . oa threats to human ater securit an river ioiversit. tue .–. :.nature.

Waer . ric . . roune Theor: n Eoration of rocess an roceure. uittie et esec .–. :..

Warin .. urra .. e .. ive .. . eterminin sources an transit times of susene seiment in the urrumiee iver e outh Waes ustraia usin faout Cs an . te esouces esec .–. :.W.

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Appendices

Appendix 1 – Interview Framework: First Round

Appendices

Appendix 1 – Interview Framework: First Round

–

Do you feel you’re learning anything by being involved with the project?

–

Do you feel you’re learning anything by being involved with the project?

– otangling interview uetion inal round

ow did your weeend go?

verall how did you find thi angling event? hat wa good and bad about it?

ow did you find thi angling event copared to the firt two event?

Did your catch for thi event eet your epectation?

hat part of the angling apling proce did you find wored wellnot well?

Did the prie affect the way you fihed?

ow do you thin the angling apling proce could be iproved?

How do you feel about the feedback you’ve been given from me?

ere your epectation for what would happen during thi angling event different to the epectation you had for the firt two angling event?

hy did you decide to return for the final angling event?

re you enjoying being involved in fihery reearch?

Do you feel you’re learning anything by being involved with the project?

ould you conider being involved in other fihery reearch prograe?

ould you conider volunteering in an anglerbaed urray cod onitoring?

re there any factor that ay reduce your involveent in an anglerbaed urray cod onitoring project in the oving into the future?

hat are your epectation for what thi reearch will achieve?

hat would you conider to be a ucceful reult for thi project?

– otangling interview uetion inal round

ow did your weeend go?

verall how did you find thi angling event? hat wa good and bad about it?

ow did you find thi angling event copared to the firt two event?

Did your catch for thi event eet your epectation?

hat part of the angling apling proce did you find wored wellnot well?

Did the prie affect the way you fihed?

ow do you thin the angling apling proce could be iproved?

How do you feel about the feedback you’ve been given from me?

ere your epectation for what would happen during thi angling event different to the epectation you had for the firt two angling event?

hy did you decide to return for the final angling event?

re you enjoying being involved in fihery reearch?

Do you feel you’re learning anything by being involved with the project?

ould you conider being involved in other fihery reearch prograe?

ould you conider volunteering in an anglerbaed urray cod onitoring?

re there any factor that ay reduce your involveent in an anglerbaed urray cod onitoring project in the oving into the future?

hat are your epectation for what thi reearch will achieve?

hat would you conider to be a ucceful reult for thi project?

– tat tal leet te ect

c Re e es al ces electe ce

aionate about fihing a paionate eel they have a angler role to play and ood ecue to go fihing want to make a

anted to give back difference

anted to give back ant to be involved in conervation of ant fihery conerved fihery anted to try fihery reearch

elt they had omething to offer the project

ocial opportunity ocial capital Direct benefit

ant to learn more ocial learning

ntereted in citien cience

tats ea le te ect

ound

c Re e es al ces

aionate about fihing a paionate angler ood ecue to go fihing

anted to give back

– tat tal leet te ect

c Re e es al ces electe ce

aionate about fihing a paionate eel they have a angler role to play and ood ecue to go fihing want to make a

anted to give back difference

anted to give back ant to be involved in conervation of ant fihery conerved fihery anted to try fihery reearch

elt they had omething to offer the project

ocial opportunity ocial capital Direct benefit

ant to learn more ocial learning

ntereted in citien cience

tats ea le te ect

ound

c Re e es al ces

aionate about fihing a paionate angler ood ecue to go fihing

anted to give back

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aah aah aah aah oint ht etalla etalla etalla hawa hawa hawa hawa hawa ngle ngle a an aah aah aah oint ht etalla etalla etalla etalla etalla etalla etalla etalla

–

et ate te et t a a ngle ngle ngle a an a an a an a an a an a an a an aah aah aah aah aah aah oint ht etalla etalla etalla hawa hawa hawa hawa hawa ngle ngle a an aah aah aah oint ht etalla etalla etalla etalla etalla etalla etalla etalla

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hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa oint t hawa oint t hawa oint t hawa oint t hawa oint t ngle ing oint t ngle ing oint t ngle ing oint t ngle ing oint t ngle ing oint t ngle ing oint t ngle ing oint t ngle ing hawa ngle ing hawa ngle ing hawa ngle ing hawa ngle ing hawa ngle ing hawa ngle ing hawa ngle ing hawa ngle ing hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah hawa aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah

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