The attitude of fishermen towards stock enhancement and influencing factors: a case study in Guilan Province of Iran

Decline in aquatic resource stocks, occurs for various reasons. Although regulations and measures have proven useful, they have failed to inhibit effectively the stock reduction trends. Iranian Fisheries Organization has carried out a great deal of investments and efforts concerning the enhancement of the Caspian Sea resource stocks through the restrictive regulations, and reproduction and release of various species such as bony fish and sturgeon. Nevertheless, reports of low catch of fish by fishermen and illegal fishing of even released fry have made serious concerns. Consequently, the existing approaches and practices have been questioned. However, resource management is facing a lack of proper understanding of society’s behaviors and attitudes towards the resource conservation and management. It is hard to study behavioral changes, but measuring of attitudes toward the natural resources conservation or enhancement, as well as the factors influencing the interest and commitment towards it, seems to be a prerequisite of any plan or program in that regard. The present study measures the fishermen’s attitude by means of Fishbein- Ajzen’s model as important and vital theory of behavior–attitude explanation. Variables such as evaluation of outcome, expectation of outcome or belief, satisfaction of and contribution in stock enhancement, as well as influenced factors including; personal characteristics, experience, amount of catch, and awareness were examined. In this descriptive analytical research, 180 samples out of the whole 5645 fishermen of the bony fish, in seven coastal towns of the Guilan province, were interviewed through a questionnaire. The study showed a significant positive attitude toward stock enhancement with 95% confidence. They included fishermen who were literate, more informed, with higher catches, and also who were content with their occupation. However, there was no significant relation between the fishermen's attitude and other factors such as age, experience, and opinions about the restrictive measures.