CEFAS23-101 Contract to provide Research into the factors influencing levels of compliance of recreational fisheries with regulations Workplan

This postdoc will assess the drivers and levels of compliance with existing regulations around the world, and try to understand how compliance can be improved in future. Existing measures to regulate MRF will be reviewed with respect to their ability to initiate compliance of anglers but also to how they have altered anglers' behaviour. This evidence is needed to assess, in more detail, the social and economic consequences of management measures, develop ideas for best practice that will maximise future compliance with regulations, and highlight future evidence needs in this area.

The approach will take the form of a review of existing approaches and knowledge about the factors influencing compliance and impacts of different management approaches on compliance. The aim is to conduct a systematic review and metanalysis with information added from any existing grey literature. However, this approach may not yield robust information due to the limited number and often context specific nature of existing of studies. If this is the case a simple comprehensive review will be needed, alongside identification of bright spot case studies that will illustrate best practice. The outcomes from the review will be used to provide ranges of compliance with measures in different fisheries, and develop ideas of best practice alongside a gap analysis to highlight future evidence needs.