In northern industrialized countries, the inland fisheries sector has long been dominated by recreational fisheries. Recreational fisheries management is as much management of people as fish stock management. However, information on the human dimensions of anglers was practically absent in Germany before the present research started. To evaluate more precisely key issues surrounding sustainable management in recreational fisheries, theoretical analyses of the peer-reviewed literature and empirical off-site survey-based analyses of recreational fisheries and its management were conducted. Angler surveys covered specialized anglers (mail and internet survey among carp anglers, N=710), urban anglers of Berlin (mail survey, N=1061) and a random sample of active anglers (telephone survey, N=474) and the general population (telephone survey, N=323) living in Germany. Recreational fishing was found to constitute a leisure activity of great popularity in Germany. In 2002, about 3.3 million people had angled at least once in Germany or abroad. The economic benefits associated with angling exceeded four billion €. The general population held positive attitudes towards angling and indicated to benefit considerably from the maintenance and conservation of freshwater fish and angling. Coupled with the fact that various negative ecological impacts may result from angling, the need for increased research and management effort was concluded. Concerning the human dimensions of anglers in Germany, the studies indicated great angler heterogeneity with respect to specialization levels, angler groupings and across and between federal states. Coupled with the diversity of anglers, multiple conflicts prevail in recreational fisheries management. These relate to user and management conflicts, with the latter being particularly critical for sustainability. Opposition or support of management actions by the angler fraternity is ultimately the key for sustainable management. Opposition of anglers was pronounced with respect to actions that might more directly restrict own behavior. Anglers will very probably only follow more restrictive management programs if they do not confound with usual habits and behavior. A strong management dichotomy between management actions based on habitat management as opposed to stocking was found in the empirical studies. Although habitat management will provide long-term (thus sustainable) benefits, angler support was high for the short-term stocking measure, and mixed for habitat management. To increase the likelihood of sustainability in recreational fisheries managment to proceed, seven core principles were derived. These included the development of a system view towards ecosystem-based management, creation of effective institutions based on traditional approaches, application of adaptive management, consideration of precautionary approaches and principles, indirect management action, and angler heterogenity and dynamics. To conclude, progress towards sustainable recreational fisheries is still in its infancy. By considering elements presented in this dissertation, the prospects for sustainability will be enhanced.
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