Assessing Recreational Fisheries Along the Kelantan Coastline for Enhancing Environmental Resource Management

Recreational fisheries play a significant role in the cultural, social, and economic fabric of many communities worldwide. Proper management and conservation efforts are crucial to ensure the long-term sustainability of this sector and its associated economic benefits. Herein, recreational fisheries along the Kelantan coastline were extensively explored to provide an in-depth overview on this sector aiming to develop proper management strategies. A site survey was performed between March and July 2020 to collect the primary data for this study. The results showed that the highest number of anglers was recorded during the daytime of the weekends with a percentage value of 83%, compared with 17% during the weekdays. In terms of bait, live shrimp, small fish, and squids were noticed to be the most commonly used bait, while the standard fishing gear used was rod-and-line. The total recreational fishing effort amounted to 65,287 person-days/year, where 58.6 % was shore-based angling, while 41.4% was from boat-based angling with a total economic value of RM7.5 million/year. It is believed that the presented results offer valuable insight into the recreational fisheries along the Kelantan shoreline which help to understand the current situation and improve its sustainability and economic impact.