A new study suggests reducing the number of fishing days in a season doesn't reduce catch as much as some would predict.
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The analyses recorded in this publication indicate that rebuilding a fishery can become more challenging when the seasons are shortened. During a compressed season, anglers will increase daily effort. The team of analysts observed the highest daily effort during the shortest season on record of three days in 2017.
The last-minute addition of the long season, 39 days, in 2017 offered a chance to see if angler effort would relax with more days available. Daily effort did decrease in the number of boat launches and anglers per day, as you can see referenced in the table above. Analysts also found that higher wind speeds could decrease daily effort.
In a nutshell, the results of this study indicate that as annual catch limits increase, and longer seasons are warranted, effort compression may be relaxed and afford even longer seasons.
A longer season would also provide safety for anglers compared to short seasons, as they are more likely to feel less pressure to fish on bad weather days.
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