Site Choice in Recreational Fisheries - Towards an Agent-Based Approach

The site choice decisions of recreational fishers (anglers) have important implications for fish stocks, fisheries management, and coastal economies by influencing catch rates and determining where economic values are created. However, the mechanisms of site choice are poorly understood. In this paper, we make the first steps toward applying agent-based modeling to improve the understanding of site choice decisions. Using an exploratory approach, we identified travel distance dependent on angler origin as a key element in site choice to rebuild travel patterns and distances. The 5-year average catches had a subdominant role for the travel patterns but could recreate the angler's distribution among the fishing locations realistically. Utility functions combined both factors, but further model development and more realistic angler agents and catch rates are required to understand anglers' site choices in more detail.