Robert B. Ditton

Recreation specialization: re-conceptualization from a social worlds perspective.

This paper initiated development of a theory of recreation specialization from a social worlds perspective and provided empirical testing for some of the stated propositions. Recreation specializat...

Understanding Angler Motivations in Fisheries Management

Abstract Motivation studies provide insight into what anglers seek in a fishing experience. Seventeen comparable angler studies were examined to identify motivational characteristics of angler populations and subpopulation groups. Five categories of motivations were used: general psychological and physiological, natural environment, social, fishery resource, and skill and equipment. Motivational profiles of angler populations were found to differ little between freshwater and saltwater environments or between the two states examined. Greater diversity was found in the importance of individual motivations among subpopulation groups, based on mode of fishing or target species, and between subpopulation groups and statewide populations. Results discourage extending motivational characteristics from a general sample of fishermen to subpopulation angler groups and vice-versa. Implications for using motivations to better meet angler needs and build supportive constituencies are discussed, and suggestions for fu...

Using Recreation Specialization to Understand Multi-Attribute Management PReferences

Recreation specialization group differences in support for multi-attribute management restrictions using a stated preference choice approach were tested. A fractional factorial design produced 80 choice sets of paired trip comparisons. A three dimensional recreation specialization model (i.e., behavior, skill and knowledge, and commitment) was used to segment groups. As expected, advanced anglers were less interested in relaxing the more restrictive harvest restrictions currently in place that produce the fishing quality they enjoyed. Casual anglers showed a strong preference for catching more fish by relaxing current harvest restrictions. Each specialization group showed a notably different pattern of preference.

Fishing Trip Satisfaction: A Typology of Anglers

Abstract Fishing trip satisfaction was defined as the fulfillment of various expected psychological outcomes. A policy-capturing technique was used to determine how anglers rated various dimensions of fishing satisfaction identified in previous studies and whether subgroups focused on certain trip dimensions. Dimensions studied were a sense of freedom, excitement, catching a fish, relaxation, enjoying the natural setting, and thinking about past fishing experiences. Scenarios that represented various combinations ofthese dimensions were completed by a sample of 166 members ofa sportfishing association in Texas. Enjoying a quality environment and feeling a sense of freedom were the two most important dimensions of satisfaction for most respondents. There was no dominant policy that most people followed. Cluster analysis revealed seven groups of anglers with different policies of fishing trip evaluation. Group sizes ranged from 4 to 21% of the sample. For some clusters, fishing satisfaction had more to do w...

Factors contributing to perceptions of recreational crowding

Abstract This paper examines perceptions of crowding in a river recreation setting, using an alternative to the conventional crowding measure and a diverse set of potential predictor variables that have not been examined concurrently in previous studies. Analysis focuses on differences between three groups of respondents: crowded floaters, whose enjoyment was reduced by encounters with other people; neutral floaters; and those floaters whose enjoyment was increased by the visitor density they encountered. Findings support some previous arguments that crowding is related more to visitors’ expectations, preferences, and previous experience than to actual or perceived encounter levels. Further, perceptions of crowding were found to be related to encounter expectations and preferences at specific river locations (e.g., at put‐in and rapids) and to perceptions of other aspects of trip quality.

Measuring Specialization among Birders: Utility of a Self-Classification Measure

This article sought to determine the efficacy of a self-classification measure of recreation specialization, relative to two-multi-item approaches, in predicting other aspects of recreation participation (in this case, motivations). The sample was drawn from birders who traveled to the Platte River (Nebraska) to experience the annual crane migration. The self-classification measure had birdwatchers categorize themselves as a committed birder, an active birder, or a casual birder. Factor analysis of six behavior, skill, and commitment items resulted in a single factor solution; thus, an index of recreation specialization was created by summing respondents’ standardized scores for these items. Respondents were divided into categories of high, medium, and low specialization. Also, cluster analysis was used to create another multi-item indicator of specialization. Each of the three measures was significantly related to motivations. The self-classification measure of specialization was somewhat stronger in predicting activity-specific motivations; there was little difference among measures in predicting more generic birdwatching motives. This research was funded by Fermata with a contract from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Recreational Fishing as Tourism

Abstract In addition to being an outdoor recreation activity for residents in each state, fishing can also be considered a form of tourism when anglers cross state lines to go fishing. Efforts are underway in each state to promote tourism, including recreational fishing, in the name of economic development. These efforts are usually independent from fishery management. Data from the “1996 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation” were analyzed to indicate the extent that various states attract anglers to their states as well as supply anglers to others. The top five destination states in terms of days of fishing by nonresidents were Minnesota, Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and New York. The top five states in numbers of resident fishing days exported to other states were Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, California, and Virginia. A stakeholder perspective including managers and resident anglers is presented to illustrate the diversity of thought on the fishing as tourism ...

A framework for understanding the consumptive orientation of recreational fishermen

Fishermen were aggregated into high-, mid-, and low-consumptive groups according to the importance they placed on catching fish. Analysis of variance indicated that each consumptive group was unique in the importance it placed on other fish-related variables. Low-consumptive fishermen rated most other aspects of the fishing experience, such as interacting with nature, relaxation, and escaping the daily routine, more important than did high-consumptive fishermen. Low-consumptive fishermen also fished more frequently and were generally more satisfied with their most recent fishing trip than were high-consumptive-oriented fishermen. The three groups can be viewed as different fishing constituencies. By understanding their characteristics, we can gain additional insights into the impacts of management decisions on recreational fishermen and their experiences.

Incentive structure of and private landowner participation in an endangered species conservation program.

In the United States, voluntary incentive programs that aid conservation of plant and wildlife species on private lands provide a structural solution to the problem of protecting endangered species by reducing costs and enhancing benefits to landowners. We explored the potential for incentives to encourage landowners to manage land cover for the benefit of endangered songbirds in central Texas (U.S.A.) by asking landowners to indicate their preferences for financial incentives, technical assistance, and regulatory assurances. We identified owners of potential songbird habitat and collected data in face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires. We used a latent-class stated-choice model to identify 3 classes of landowners whose choices varied on the basis of their attitudes and perceived social norms: (1) strong positive attitude, perceived social pressure to participate, and willing to participate with relatively few incentives, (2) weak positive attitude, perceived no social pressure to participate, and required strongest incentives, and (3) negative attitude, perceived social pressure not to enroll, and unwilling to participate regardless of incentive structure. Given this heterogeneity in preferences, conservation incentives may increase management of land cover to benefit endangered species on private lands to some degree; however, exclusive reliance on incentives may be insufficient. Promoting conservation on private lands may be enhanced by integrating incentives into an approach that incorporates other strategies for conservation, including social networks and collaborative processes that reinforce social norms.

Differences in Attitudes, Fishing Motives, and Demographic Characteristics between Tournament and Nontournament Black Bass Anglers in Texas

Abstract We tested for differences between tournament and nontournament black bass anglers in their motives for fishing, attitudes, and demographic characteristics. Fewer than one-fifth (17.8%) of black bass anglers in Texas participated in black bass fishing tournaments. Tournament anglers were younger, fished more frequently, and were more likely to be male and belong to fishing clubs than nontournament anglers. Tournament anglers viewed themselves as more skilled than nontournament anglers. Also, tournament anglers differed significantly from nontournament anglers on each of 7 catch-related motives studied and on 2 of 10 noncatch motives (“experience adventure and excitement” and “experience new and different things”). Tournament anglers differed significantly from nontournament anglers on 11 of 15 attitudinal statements regarding catch. Our results were generally consistent with those from two previous studies of saltwater tournament anglers. Differences between tournament and nontournament anglers al...