Beyond Asking the Right Questions: Accounting for Error and Bias in a Recreational Fishery Survey

Accurate information about anglers’ motivations, satisfaction, and fishing behavior is needed to design effective recreational fisheries management. This study used a comprehensive survey of Swedish anglers to explore the risk for common sampling strategies and survey response groupings to introduce significant error or biases that impact the interpretation of data. Angler motivation and satisfaction differed between anglers based on avidity, type of boat use, and gender. Measures of satisfaction from angling appear to be less affected by biases than general motivations, fishery specific motivations, and catch measures. Fishing season and place of residence have less relationship to psychological dimensions of survey responses, but remain important when considering target species. These results can guide data collection to more accurately measure the preferences and behaviors of different resource user groups, improve the design of regulations and management, and tailor communication to facilitate greater compliance and adoption of best practices.