Illegal incidents and violations related to Atlantic salmon fishing in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, during 2001–2020

• Published in: Fisheries Management and Ecology
• Main Authors: Van Leeuwen, Travis E., Cote, David, Lehnert, Sarah J., Lewis, Sky Ann, Walsh, Daryl, Bungay, Kerry, Kelly, Nicholas I., McGinn, Jason, Adams, Blair, Dempson, J. Brian
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2023
• Subjects: Canada; Newfoundland; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/fme.12652; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/fme.12652

Abstract Resource user compliance is a key element in effective fisheries management. Herein, we examine two decades of enforcement records pertaining to Atlantic salmon from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Illegal incidents were negatively correlated with the number of licensed anglers but not salmon abundance. Over two decades, illegal incidents declined by 66%, even after correcting for the positive relationship between enforcement effort and illegal incidents. This decline was primarily driven by a 67% reduction in netting and jigging‐related violations, which were likely to impose the highest levels of mortality on adult salmon among violations examined. Additionally, illegal incidents and violation types did not increase as a result of management changes. While Newfoundland and Labrador remains one of the last strongholds for Atlantic salmon, we encourage other jurisdictions to monitor fisheries compliance to better understand the social‐ecological landscape that is crucial to supporting healthy fisheries.