Water Quality and Recreational Angling Demand in Ireland

Using on-site survey data from sea, coarse and game angling sites in Ireland this paper estimates count data models of recreational angling demand. The models are used to investigate the extent to which anglers are responsive to differences in water quality, with the water quality metric defined by the EU's Water Framework Directive. The analysis shows that angling demand is greater where water quality has a higher ecological status, particularly for anglers targeting game species. However, for coarse anglers we find the reverse, angling demand is greater in waters with lower ecological status. On average across the different target species surveyed anglers have a willingness to pay €371 for a day's fishing. The estimated additional benefit of fishing in waters with high versus low ecological status is €122/day for game anglers but there is a decline in benefit of € 93/day for coarse anglers.

Management implications

While one of the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to attain and retain good status in water bodies, the diversity in angler preferences means that not all anglers may be affected similarly by efforts that seek to improve water quality. Achieving good water status closely aligns with the interests of game anglers. However, we find that coarse angling demand is higher at sites with poor or bad ecological status. Therefore, what might be considered an improvement in water quality from a WFD perspective may be considered otherwise by coarse anglers, though, further research is required to rule out coincidental correlation between water quality and site specific characteristics important to coarse anglers.