Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Georgia
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Recent trends in outdoor recreation in the United States show declining participation in consumptive outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing, primarily because of a decline in per capita participation among certain ethnic groups, largely due to structural change in demography. In Georgia, the proportion of Whites, which have comprised the largest segment of the recreation resource user base, is declining while the share of other racial groups (i.e., Non-whites) is increasing. Fishery managers benefit by knowing if White anglers differ from Non-white anglers in attributes such as demographic characteristics and fishing behavior and preferences. In this study, we compared the racial differences on angling metrics and other attitudinal variables from an intensively managed fishery. There significant differences between user groups in many of the attributes measured. Differences in demographics, sportfish preference, and harvest-orientated behavior confirm that the White and Non-white anglers constitute two distinct segments of this fishery, and these findings, albeit from one study area, may be applicable to other similar fisheries.