Structured Decision Making in Fisheries Management: Trout Fishing Regulations on the Au Sable River, Michigan

Abstract A simple decision-making method, based on multiattribute utility analysis, is presented for integrating multiple factors into fishery management plans. The method is described with a procedural outline and demonstrated for management of the brown trout Salmo trutta fishery on the Au Sable River, Michigan. Fishery research results and other information were used to evaluate 13 forms of fishery regulation on the basis of four attributes: trophy harvest, trout harvest, sublegal catch, and regulatory complexity. Three management objectives were used to illustrate how different forms of fishery regulation could be selected, depending on the relative importance associated with each attribute. Results indicate how this decision-making method, and decision analysis in general, can be used to assist managers in developing fishery management plans.

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