Received: 10 October 2018 Accepted: 18 February 2019 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13935 FISH SYMPOSIUM SPECIAL ISSUE REVIEW PAPER Searching for responsible and sustainable recreational fisheries in the Anthropocene Steven J. Cooke1 | William M. Twardek1 | Andrea J. Reid1 | Robert J. Lennox1 | Sascha C. Danylchuk2 | Jacob W. Brownscombe1 | Shannon D. Bower3 | Robert Arlinghaus4 | Kieran Hyder5,6 | Andy J. Danylchuk2,7 1Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Recreational fisheries that use rod and reel (i.e., angling) operate around the globe in diverse Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary freshwater and marine habitats, targeting many different gamefish species and engaging at least Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, 220 million participants. The motivations for fishing vary extensively; whether anglers engage in Ontario, Canada catch-and-release or are harvest-oriented, there is strong potential for recreational fisheries to 2Fish Mission, Amherst, Massechussetts, USA be conducted in a manner that is both responsible and sustainable. There are many examples of 3Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, Uppsala University, Visby, recreational fisheries that are well-managed where anglers, the angling industry and managers Gotland, Sweden engage in responsible behaviours that both contribute to long-term sustainability of fish popula- 4Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, tions and the sector. Yet, recreational fisheries do not operate in a vacuum; fish populations face Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and threats and stressors including harvest from other sectors as well as environmental change, a Inland Fisheries & Division of Integrative defining characteristic of the Anthropocene. We argue that the future of recreational fisheries Fisheries Management, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and indeed many wild fish populations and aquatic ecosystems depends on having responsible Berlin, Germany and sustainable (R&S) recreational fisheries whilst, where possible, addressing, or at least lobby- 5 Centre for Environment, Fisheries & ing for increased awareness about the threats to recreational fisheries emanating from outside Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK the sector (e.g., climate change). Here, we first consider how the concepts of R&S intersect in 6School of Environmental Sciences, University the recreational fishing sector in an increasingly complex socio-cultural context. Next, we of East Anglia, Norwich, UK explore the role of the angler, angling industry and decision-makers in achieving R&S fisheries. 7Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, We extend this idea further by considering the consequences of a future without recreational Amherst, Massachusetts, USA fisheries (either because of failures related to R&S) and explore a pertinent case study situated Correspondence in Uttarakahand, India. Unlike other fisheries sectors where the number of participants is rela- Steven J. Cooke, Fish Ecology and tively small, recreational angling participants are numerous and widespread, such that if their Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of actions are responsible, they have the potential to be a key voice for conservation and serve as Environmental and Interdisciplinary Sciences, a major force for good in the Anthropocene. What remains to be seen is whether this will be Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, achieved, or if failure will occur to the point that recreational fisheries face increasing pressure Canada. to cease, as a result of external environmental threats, the environmental effects of recreational Email: [email protected] fishing and emerging ethical concerns about the welfare of angled fish. Funding information Canada Research Chairs, Grant/Award Number: FECPL; Natural Sciences and KEYWORDS Engineering Research Council of Canada, angling, ethics, fish welfare, recreational fishing, responsible and sustainable fisheries Grant/Award Number: DG; S.J.C. is supported by NSERC and the Canada Research Chairs Program. S.J.C. and A.J.D. are also supported by Bonefish and Tarpon Trust (www. bonefishtarpontrust.org). RA received funds through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund of the EU, and the State of Mecklenburg- Vorpommern (Germany) (Grant MV-I.18-LM- 004, B 730117000069) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Grants 01LC1826E and 033W046A). J Fish Biol. 2019;94:845–856. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfb © 2019 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles 845 846 FISH COOKE ET AL. 1 | INTRODUCTION influenced by a range of non-fishing related anthropogenic distur- bances, such as water abstraction, hydropower, climate change, inva- Recreational fisheries operate in diverse aquatic ecosystems around sive species and pollution (Costello et al., 2010; Dudgeon et al., 2006; the globe; from the ice-covered freshwater lakes of northern Finland Reid et al., 2018), as well as other fisheries sectors. Thus, sustainable to the coastal flats habitats of the Seychelles, from the depths of the recreational fisheries depend on also addressing threats external to Amazon Basin to the Great Barrier Reef. The motivations for partici- recreational fisheries and if these threats cannot be ameliorated easily pation in recreational fishing are diverse (Fedler & Ditton, 1994), but (largely due to socio-political or economic constraints; Cowx et al., what unites all recreational fishers is that it is a leisure activity (i.e.,it 2010), recreational fisheries must be managed within a constraint pro- is conducted largely “for fun”; Pitcher & Hollingworth, 2002) that also ductivity space to operate safely (Carpenter et al., 2017). Indeed, as contributes to personal nutrition (Cooke et al., 2018) in some humans increasingly dominate the planet (Röckstrom et al., 2009), it is instances (i.e., when fish are not released). Recreational fishing is also now widely accepted that we have entered a new geologic epoch, big business, creating thousands of jobs across the world. In develop- called the Anthropocene (Crutzen and Stoermer, 2000). The Anthro- ing countries recreational fishing can support rural livelihoods (Smith pocene has inherently negative connotations (Corlett, 2015) but there are increasing calls to consider what can be done to achieve a “good” et al., 2005), for example, by bringing angling tourism income into Anthropocene (Dalby, 2016). Moving forward, there will certainly be deprived coastal communities. The FAO (2012) definition of recrea- struggles to determine if and how activities such as recreational fish- tional fishing clearly differentiates recreational fishing from subsis- ing interface with the concept of trying to achieve a good Anthropo- tence and commercial fishing as, “fishing of aquatic animals (mainly cene (Elmer et al., 2017). fish) that do not constitute the individual’s primary resource to meet Beyond the obvious state of environmental change, there are basic nutritional needs and are not generally sold or otherwise traded other geo-political and social-cultural changes afoot that threaten the on export, domestic or black markets”. Although recreational fisheries future of recreational fisheries. For example, as countries become can use a variety of gear types (e.g., spear, speargun, gillnet, trap, rod more developed and economically-wealthy there tends to be an initial and reel; Arlinghaus & Cooke, 2009) depending on jurisdictional regu- increase in recreational fishing fueled by more disposable income yet lations, the dominant gear type is rod and reel with hook and line and eventually such development leads to a nature-disconnected populace is thus the focus of this paper (i.e., recreational angling and the recrea- (Arlinghaus et al., 2002, 2015; FAO, 2012). This disconnection may tional angler). contribute to a growing anti-fishing movement related to the belief Recreational fisheries are often considered comparatively less that “fishing for fun is cruel to individual fish” (Arlinghaus et al., 2012) harmful in ecological terms compared with other more harvest- and that recreational fishing is a threat to the few places still consid- oriented fisheries sectors, but there are also many similarities between ered wilderness (Arlinghaus & Schwab, 2011; De Leeuw, 1996). recreational and commercial fisheries (Cooke & Cowx, 2006; Lewin Strong welfare or conservation-oriented beliefs have become a domi- et al., 2006). Fisheries collapse resulting from overharvest (Post et al., nant viewpoint in some regions (Arlinghaus et al., 2012; Balon, 2000) 2002), fisheries-induced evolution (Jørgensen et al., 2007), incidental such that some forms of recreational angling (especially catch and fishing mortality (Coggins et al., 2007) and environmental degradation release), are considered by some as socially unacceptable and in some (Cooke & Cowx, 2006) are largely considered to be consequences of cases have been banned (Arlinghaus, 2006, 2007; Berg & Rösch, commercial fisheries, yet these have all been documented in recrea- 1998). Due to issues related to sustainability (as a result of the effects tional fisheries (Lewin et al., 2006). However, most recreational fisher- from the recreational fisheries sector itself and due to effects from ies are actively managed (e.g., through harvest regulations) and are other stressors or sectors), the perceived low value of the sector typically considered sustainable (at the population