Understanding and Enhancing Angler Satisfaction with Fisheries Management: Insights from the “Great Red Snapper Count”

Management of Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus has been a topic of much scientific debate and intensive public scrutiny. In response to political, public, and management desires for more robust data on Red Snapper populations, a gulfwide initiative commonly referred to as the “Great Red Snapper Count” (GRSC) was funded to estimate the absolute abundance of Red Snapper in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Here, we describe the results of an online survey designed to (1) characterize the social dimensions of Red Snapper anglers, (2) measure satisfaction with current Red Snapper populations and regulations, (3) assess overall patterns of awareness of the GRSC, and (4) evaluate the potential benefits of GRSC stakeholder engagement videos. A key finding of our survey was that awareness of the GRSC was associated with up to three times higher satisfaction with fisheries management. Through an in-survey experiment, we found that anglers that were presented a video on specific GRSC project components reported slightly higher management satisfaction than those presented an overview video or no video. Collectively, our results indicate that angler awareness, when underpinned by effective engagement and outreach activities, can enhance angler satisfaction.