enough to make sport fishing a major U.S. 

 industry. The magnitude of sport fishing becomes 

 even greater if its strong influence in expanding 

 boating activities in the marine environment is 

 taken into account. Finally, the demographic 

 changes which are bringing an even larger propor- 

 tion of the American people to or close to coastal 

 areas imply a rapid rate of growth in demand for 

 this kind of recreational service. This conclusion is 

 strengthened by the fact that sport fishing, like 

 other outdoor recreational activities, is highly 

 sensitive to increases in personal incomes and 

 leisure time. 



The point need not be labored. Sport fishing is 

 big business; it is widely shared as an activity that 

 touches the Uves of a very large number of 

 American families and it is tinged with an emotion 

 that gives it a political and social strength beyond 

 the number of participants. Clearly it must be 

 considered a major factor in planning future use of 

 the inshore and estuarine environment. It will not 

 be easy to provide for the growing demands of 

 saltwater anglers. Many of the most desirable sport 

 fish are already under heavy pressure from both 

 types of fishing and from progressive deterioration 

 in habitat. It is becoming more difficult and 

 expensive to provide convenient access to pre- 

 ferred areas for fishermen and boats. Fishermen 

 are increasingly in competition with other recrea- 

 tional users of coastal and estuarine waters and 

 problems of overcrowding are becoming all too 

 common. Not only fish but space and the ability 

 to reach the fishing area quickly and conveniently 

 are required to meet the demand for sport fishing 

 in both quantitative and qualitative senses. 



B. Areas of Expansion and Decline 



Expansion of marine sport fishing can be aided 

 by removal of catch limits where such limits are 

 not biologically justified. For example, no justifi- 

 cation can be demonstrated at present for restric- 

 tions on the catch of albacore, yellowtaU, or 

 rockfish. The only justification for these regula- 

 tions on sport catch of marine fish is based on 

 elimination of "waste of fish" and the setting of 

 catch goals (limits) for the marine angler. Neither 

 argument is tenable from the biological manage- 

 ment point of view. There may well be cases where 

 catch limits are required, however, to assure an 

 optimal distribution of catch between sport and 



commercial usage, but this is a socioeconomic 

 choice. 



Technologically, the marine game fish angler 

 has progressed little in the type of gear and 

 method of fishing in the past two decades. The 

 introduction of the spinning reel, fiberglas rod, and 

 synthetic fishing line represents the most notable 

 change, and this change has increased the chances 

 of fishing success; however, the basic techniques of 

 capturing the various species remain much the 

 same. To some extent this may reflect the tend- 

 ency of many anglers to regard improved gear or 

 methods as "unsporting," and consequent pressure 

 to outlaw them. Development of the ability to 

 predict the location and concentrations of fish and 

 to locate and position major concentrations in the 

 general area known as the "fishing grounds" offers 

 the greatest opportunity for technological expan- 

 sion. Increase of angler success could result in a 

 larger increase in angler participation, since partici- 

 pation is directly related to angler success. 



Unfortunately, there are possibilities for de- 

 clines in several marine and anadromous species of 

 importance to the marine game fish angler unless 

 vigorous action is taken. Salmon and striped bass 

 resources will be increasingly in jeopardy due to 

 loss of natural spawning grounds and insufficient 

 water flows to keep spawning areas in production 

 resulting from the development of large water 

 storage facilities and diversions. This can be 

 mitigated to a degree by management of water 

 flow on the remaining spawning grounds and to a 

 small degree by the development of artificial aids. 

 However, the long-term outlook for the salmon in 

 the western United States and in the southern 

 drainage systems, such as the Sacramento River, is 

 for a decline unless considerably increased efforts 

 in artificial propagation are forthcoming. 



Striped bass may also come under pressure as 

 an important marine game species for the same 

 reasons as salmon— reduction or elimination of 

 freshwater spawning areas— though pressure on this 

 species is much lighter on the Pacific Coast as 

 compared to the Atlantic Coast. 



Declines in catch per unit effort in most marine 

 game species can be expected. Major game species 

 affected will be albacore, white sea bass, yellow- 

 tail, barracuda, salmon species, bonito, mackerel, 

 billfish, and rockfish. These declines will come 

 about either if fishing by foreign nationals is 



VII-33 



