Full length articleGuidelines for evaluating the suitability of catch and release fisheries: Lessons learned from Caribbean flats fisheries

Catch and release is receiving attention as a recreational fisheries conservation tool, but data are often lacking on: the suitability of target species; location-specific factors (e.g., predator field); likelihood of community support; infrastructure capabilities; availability of suitable habitat. This is especially true where C&R fisheries are being developed because they are perceived as economically valuable, automatically self-sustaining, with low environmental impact. However, resources to support research, management, and enforcement are often lacking, leading to fisheries that are de facto C&R, with little oversight or conservation planning. This can lead to fisheries that are not sustainable due to low post-release mortality, overfishing, loss of critical habitats. In locations with limited resources, a framework is needed to maximize these resources to provide sufficient information for fisheries management and evaluation. The “flats fishery” of the Caribbean, comprised of bonefish (Albula vulpes), Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus), permit (Trachinotus falcatus), and common snook (Centropomus undecimalis), supports an economically valuable recreational fishery that is C&R in many locations throughout its geographic range. Once a fishery that received little management attention, recent research has provided sufficient information to guide conservation and management. In this manuscript, the lessons learned from >10 years of research and conservation of the Caribbean flats fishery are used to demonstrate how C&R Fishery Evaluation Guidelines (FEGs) can be applied to this and similar C&R fisheries. The FEG factors include: species suitability, habitat, water quality, fishery status, fishery capacity, socio-economics, enforcement and compliance, cultural factors, and education.