Does catch-and-release increase the recreational value of rivers? The case of salmon fishing

Catch-and-release (C&R) could be an interesting management tool in recreational fisheries as long as mortality remains low and the anglers' well-being does not drop. We used a choice experiment to examine the potential of C&R angling as a monitoring tool for the salmon recreational fishery in Brittany (France) in summer 2017. Anglers were asked to choose between hypothetical fishing day trips differing in terms of their combination of relevant attributes and levels and distance to travel. From the analysis of respondents' trade-offs between the fishing trip's attributes, willingness-to-pay was estimated for each level of attribute. Our results show that anglers prefer unrestrictive regulations. On average, we observe that C&R has a depressive effect on the valuation of the fishing day. However, some socioeconomic groups positively value C&R. All in all, the majority of the anglers nonetheless hold a positive valuation of a C&R fishing day, which could therefore be used to generate economic returns for the river once the total admissible capture (TAC) is reached. Lastly, the fishing season, and especially the level of river use, impacts more on the value of fishing than C&R.