Anglers Perceptions About European Catfish <i>Silurus glanis</i> in a Newly Invaded Region
To avoid the spread and environmental impacts of the European catfish (<i>Silurus glanis</i>), which arrived in Portugal around 2006, it is fundamental to understand anglers’ behaviors and perceptions. To address this need, 339 Portuguese anglers were surveyed online and face-to-face and...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| author | João Gago Rui Rivaes Diogo Ribeiro Diogo Dias Paul Castagné Frédéric Santoul Filipe Ribeiro |
| author_facet | João Gago Rui Rivaes Diogo Ribeiro Diogo Dias Paul Castagné Frédéric Santoul Filipe Ribeiro |
| author_sort | João Gago |
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| description | To avoid the spread and environmental impacts of the European catfish (<i>Silurus glanis</i>), which arrived in Portugal around 2006, it is fundamental to understand anglers’ behaviors and perceptions. To address this need, 339 Portuguese anglers were surveyed online and face-to-face and divided into two groups (catfish anglers, n = 115; and non-catfish anglers, n = 224). The majority of surveyed anglers were males (>95%) who consider that catfish is not beneficial to the development of angling (>62%) and acknowledge its negative impact on other fish species (>84%), mainly by predation (>89%). Catfish anglers perceive the species as more positive for angling and for other fish species. Principal Component Analysis showed that anglers’ behaviors are mainly driven by their awareness of the impacts of European catfish and by their angling experience. Regression modeling inferred the probabilities of two anglers’ behavior (targeting catfish and practice of catch and release) and one perception (catfish is beneficial to angling), which are considered promoters of catfish invasion, and detected strong correlations among these three variables. Therefore, it is strongly advised to implement an educational and law enforcement program to stop illegal practices that promote the dissemination of invasive fish species like European catfish. |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-ec1472c9a49e45fbb88d4db8f3d23ee02025-08-20T02:17:19ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182025-03-0117425210.3390/d17040252Anglers Perceptions About European Catfish <i>Silurus glanis</i> in a Newly Invaded RegionJoão Gago0Rui Rivaes1Diogo Ribeiro2Diogo Dias3Paul Castagné4Frédéric Santoul5Filipe Ribeiro6Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Santarém, 2001-904 Santarém, PortugalMARE, Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente/ARNET, Rede de Investigação Aquática, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, PortugalMARE, Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente/ARNET, Rede de Investigação Aquática, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, PortugalMARE, Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente/ARNET, Rede de Investigação Aquática, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, PortugalLaboratoire Evolution et Diversité, Biologique (EDB), Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, 31400 Toulouse, FranceLaboratoire Evolution et Diversité, Biologique (EDB), Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, 31400 Toulouse, FranceMARE, Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente/ARNET, Rede de Investigação Aquática, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, PortugalTo avoid the spread and environmental impacts of the European catfish (<i>Silurus glanis</i>), which arrived in Portugal around 2006, it is fundamental to understand anglers’ behaviors and perceptions. To address this need, 339 Portuguese anglers were surveyed online and face-to-face and divided into two groups (catfish anglers, n = 115; and non-catfish anglers, n = 224). The majority of surveyed anglers were males (>95%) who consider that catfish is not beneficial to the development of angling (>62%) and acknowledge its negative impact on other fish species (>84%), mainly by predation (>89%). Catfish anglers perceive the species as more positive for angling and for other fish species. Principal Component Analysis showed that anglers’ behaviors are mainly driven by their awareness of the impacts of European catfish and by their angling experience. Regression modeling inferred the probabilities of two anglers’ behavior (targeting catfish and practice of catch and release) and one perception (catfish is beneficial to angling), which are considered promoters of catfish invasion, and detected strong correlations among these three variables. Therefore, it is strongly advised to implement an educational and law enforcement program to stop illegal practices that promote the dissemination of invasive fish species like European catfish.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/4/252inland fisheriessurvey-questionnairePortuguese freshwaterstrophy fishinvasive fish management |
| spellingShingle | João Gago Rui Rivaes Diogo Ribeiro Diogo Dias Paul Castagné Frédéric Santoul Filipe Ribeiro Anglers Perceptions About European Catfish <i>Silurus glanis</i> in a Newly Invaded Region Diversity inland fisheries survey-questionnaire Portuguese freshwaters trophy fish invasive fish management |
| title | Anglers Perceptions About European Catfish <i>Silurus glanis</i> in a Newly Invaded Region |
| title_full | Anglers Perceptions About European Catfish <i>Silurus glanis</i> in a Newly Invaded Region |
| title_fullStr | Anglers Perceptions About European Catfish <i>Silurus glanis</i> in a Newly Invaded Region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anglers Perceptions About European Catfish <i>Silurus glanis</i> in a Newly Invaded Region |
| title_short | Anglers Perceptions About European Catfish <i>Silurus glanis</i> in a Newly Invaded Region |
| title_sort | anglers perceptions about european catfish i silurus glanis i in a newly invaded region |
| topic | inland fisheries survey-questionnaire Portuguese freshwaters trophy fish invasive fish management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/4/252 |
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