Recreational Specializations and Motivations of Virginia River Anglers

Abstract
On‐site interviews and a mail questionnaire survey of 377 anglers on two Virginia rivers were used to evaluate the concept of recreational specialization for differentiating angler subgroups. Specialization was defined for four dimensions of angler behavior: (1) fishery resource use, (2) experience, (3) investment, and (4) centrality of angling to lifestyle. Six types of anglers, representing low to high levels of specialization, were identified by cluster analysis. The experience dimension was the most important contributor to the framework, accounting for 24% of the variance in the data. A combination of the resource, investment, and centrality dimensions explained 48% of the variance. Highly specialized anglers were likely to cite resource‐related motives (e.g., trophy fish), to rely on skill to catch fish, to prefer to catch and release larger fish, and to favor restrictive harvest regulations. Less specialized anglers cited escape and family‐oriented recreation as motivations for fishing, placed greater emphasis on luck to catch fish, were satisfied with catching smaller fish, and favored liberal harvest regulations. Our results suggest that certain aspects of angler behavior, particularly frequency of fishing, investment, and consumptive habits, are important determinants of specialization that can be used to identify angler subgroups and to assist managers in maximizing satisfactions among their diverse clientele.

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