Mixed-mode surveys reveal shared regulatory preferences in an overfished recreational fishery

Population declines of spotted seatrout <i>Cynoscion nebulosus</i> have reached levels that warrant management action in Louisiana, USA waters. As regulatory adjustments are necessary to recover the stock, we evaluated the viability of recovery options while gathering preference data from respondents through three survey modes. The modes applied were: (1) a series of public scoping meetings, (2) a probability-based sample of fishing license-holders, and (3) an open-access online survey. Among survey modes, significant differences were seen in avidity, typical harvest, and perceptions of the fishery, indicating that we captured responses from three distinct user groups. Despite these differences, several common themes emerged among all three survey types. Respondents in all survey types indicated strong levels of support for regulations decreasing allowable harvest relative to regulations at the time of survey execution. Specifically, our study presents a viable recovery scenario while accounting for the preferences of multiple user groups.

美国路易斯安那州水域内的斑点海鳟（spotted seatrout，*Cynoscion nebulosus*）种群数量下降已达到需要开展管理干预的程度。鉴于恢复该种群需要实施监管调整，本研究在通过三种调研方式收集受访者偏好数据的同时，评估了各类恢复方案的可行性。本次调研采用的三种方式分别为：(1) 系列公众范围界定会议；(2) 基于概率抽样的钓鱼许可证持有者样本；(3) 开放获取式线上调研。不同调研方式的受访者在垂钓热衷程度、常规渔获量以及对该渔业的认知方面均存在显著差异，表明本次调研收集了三类不同用户群体的反馈。尽管存在上述差异，三类调研仍共同呈现出若干核心共识。相较于调研实施时的现行监管规则，三类调研的受访者均强烈支持降低允许渔获量的监管政策。具体而言，本研究在兼顾多类用户群体偏好的前提下，提出了一套可行的种群恢复方案。