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The successful management of recreational fisheries must balance ecological, and social goals; select from and implement a range of management tools; operate under often complex governance structures; and contend with diverse human stakeholders’ expectations, desires, and actual behaviour in response to management activities. This complexity also means that there are many knowledge and research gaps regarding the information needed to meet the requirements of specific fisheries. This thesis explores Swedish recreational fisheries as social-ecological systems to help close these gaps, and improve their future management.

The sea trout (Salmo trutta) fishery around the island of Gotland provides context for investigating the human and ecological dimensions of catch-and-release (C&R), and stock level connections between angler expectations, catches, and spawning returns. This case study first identifies key motivations to retain or release sea trout of legal size, and factors anglers think are important for successful C&R. Then determines which angler-related, fish-related, or environmental factors impact stress levels and injuries for sea trout. Further, it identifies the potential for small changes in anglers harvest preferences to significantly impact mortality rates for an important segment of the spawning population. Taken together these outcomes identify knowledge and behavioural gaps that influence the successful application of C&R in this fishery, and that could affect the achievement of fishery management goals.

Several opportunities to improve the transfer of information between stakeholder groups in Swedish recreational fisheries are illuminated through an assessment of how best practices for C&R are communicated to anglers, and an evaluation of potential biases generated when collecting data through angler surveys. Communication from freshwater fishery managers to fishing license buyers is deficient in the quality and quantity of information on best practices for C&R. In addition, this is notably poorer for certain fisheries and target species that have very high rates of C&R. In the opposite direction, the collection of information from anglers is also challenging, as common sampling techniques and the grouping of survey responses in recreational fisheries can introduce significant biases that impact how data can be interpreted. These include psychological dimensions of fishing experiences that connect angler motivations and behaviours to fishery management structures.

This thesis contributes to the knowledge and discussion about sustainably managing recreational fisheries, but the methods to apply this information to existing governance structures and induce positive behavioural change in diverse populations of anglers require further development.