The social structure of the Lake Michigan sport fishery
Abstract
The structure of a society refers to self-reinforcing patterns of interaction that emerge when its members associate over time. The present study selects Peter Blau's deductive theory of social structure as a basis for understanding the conditions that shape patterns of angler behavior in the Lake Michigan Sport Fishery (LMSF). Data on anglers, who reside in the East North Central Census Region (ENC) and who fish from each of seven Lake Michigan coastal subregions, are aggregated in order to construct a large number of measures of societal differentiation. The data set used in the analysis is the 1985 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. Variables are identified that are assumed to provide a socially relevant set of structural parameters according to Blau's conceptual framework. The Gibbs-Martin Index, the Gini Index of Concentration, and the Index of Multiple Intersection are computed as quantitative measures of societal heterogeneity, inequality, and intersecting social circles, respectively. Results indicate a diverse community of anglers both within and among Lake Michigan's coastal subregions. The conclusion is drawn that the widespread use of statistical measures of central tendency in resource-based recreation research has neglected the variety and diversity existent in recreating populations. Those anglers who pursue the introduced salmon are not found to occupy a status differentiated social position within the LMSF because nominal species categories intersect (i.e., are weakly correlated) with status variable distributions. The social structure of each coastal subregion, as well as the ENC taken as a whole, appears flexible with many intersecting lines of social distinctions. The present study develops a unique approach to the study of a sport fishery; it underscores the need to incorporate human dimensions into fishery management decisions; it suggests the need to reformulate the kinds of questions that are asked of anglers in survey research. Effective ecosystem management and policy formulation for Lake Michigan requires additional information about social factors that shape the patterns of interaction and interchangeability among different groups of anglers.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
O'Leary, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Forestry|Recreation|Social structure|Aquaculture|Fish production
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