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Hunter characteristics and preferences for harvest control rules

Andersen, Oddgeir
Doctoral thesis, Peer reviewed
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URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/297983
Date
2015-08-26
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  • Ph.d.-avhandlinger i anvendt økologi / PhD Dissertations in applied ecology [17]
Abstract
My thesis is concerned with improving harvest management of ptarmigans and red deer by

increased understanding of hunters’ preferences and by developing hunter typologies. These

species where chosen to illustrate two contrasting management situations, since the number of

harvested willow ptarmigan has been steadily declining, while the red deer harvest is rapidly

increasing. Data is collected by using questionnaires to ptarmigan and red deer hunters. I have

measured factors related to hunting success, preferences for different kinds of harvest

regulations and the effect of environmental attitudes on harvest regulations by using the NEP

scale.

CPUE is commonly used as a descriptor of game abundance. I found no significant

relationship between CPUE and estimated ptarmigan density prior to hunting season. My

results illustrates that using game abundance measured as bird density per km2 alone, not

necessarily are an adequate measure to adjusting harvest rates for ptarmigan. I found hunting

success to be complicated by several intrinsic and extrinsic factors. For example, the number

of ptarmigan observed per day was a better predictor than estimated ptarmigan density on

hunting success.

A quota strategy was the most preferred harvest principle among ptarmigan hunters. Secondly,

hunters preferred a reduction in number of hunters or dividing the season into short periods.

Shortening the length of hunting season was the least preferred principle. Translated into

ptarmigan management, mangers should develop regulations based on annual quotas or quotas

over a longer time span than a daily limit.

Environmental orientation correlated positively with higher acceptance of regulatory

management actions, while socio-demographic variables had limited effect on the relationship

between environmental concern and attitudes toward management actions.

I identified several typologies useful for management purposes. Some characteristics related

to the consumptive orientation, i.e. the importance of meat and the bag size. Also regarding

hunting effort, the hunters grouped into distinct typologies. This eagerness related mostly to

the respondents’ catch-orientation and should be considered in situations where population

reduction/control is an important task. On the other hand, in situations where avoiding

overexploitation is the focus, hunters with strong catch orientation and high effort should be channeled to areas where they pay more for exclusive access and the possibility to bag more

game, in order to facilitate for these hunters. For example, in an area facilitated for “experience

seekers”, it may be wiser to keep a low bag limit, than to reduce number of hunters since they

were least motivated by the importance of bag size. Conversely, the more appreciative- and

less catch-orientated hunters, should be channeled to more crowded areas and stronger harvest

regulations, and to a cheaper price. The latter may be relevant both for ptarmigan hunters

(where the hunters may be satisfied with only a few birds) and deer hunters (for example

hunting access later in the season, or only aiming for antlerless individuals, calves or

yearlings).

I have in my thesis tried to demonstrate the need for increased knowledge about hunters’

preferences for harvest regulations as a contribution to social-ecological systems when

management strategies are developed. Managers should therefore include the hunters’

preferences when implementing different types of harvest regulations. Management of

ptarmigans should be placed somewhere between adaptive management and scenario

planning. The effects of the implemented regulations should also be evaluated at a larger scale,

for example by building management strategy evaluation models. In order to be truly

predictive in any human-altered environment, the system under consideration must include

human users. Therefore, the behavior of individual harvesters and their compliance with

management rules must be included. This requires the integration of ecology with social

sciences into social-ecological systems, in order to improve the predictive power of system

dynamics models. Development of such models is clearly a topic for further research and

advances in this field.
Series
PHD in applied ecology;3/2015

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