Proceedings of the National Academy of Science | March 19, 2019
Senior Sustainability Scientist Joshua Abbott is a principal author of a new opinion paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences titled “Governing the recreational dimension of global fisheries.” Abbott is an associate professor in Arizona State University's School of Sustainability and an affiliated faculty in the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes.
The paper discusses the importance of recreational fisheries and the need to improve their management and their inclusion in fisheries policymaking. “Recreational fisheries deserve to be considered on equal footing with commercial fisheries, particularly in mixed coastal fisheries,” the authors argue.
Abbott and the authors also offer five steps for policy reform that would allow recreational fisheries to transition to policies and regulations that benefit a wide variety of people while fostering sustainability.