TY - JOUR
T1 - Using the internet to understand angler behavior in the information age
AU - Martin, Dustin R.
AU - Pracheil, Brenda M.
AU - Deboer, Jason A.
AU - Wilde, Gene R.
AU - Pope, Kevin L.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Ben Beardmore, Andrea Faas, and Keith Hurley for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article. Many of the ideas presented here originated while working on Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration project F-182-R, which was administered by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The Nebraska Co-operative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is jointly supported by a cooperative agreement among the U.S. Geological Survey, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the University of Nebraska, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute.
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Declining participation in recreational angling is of great concern to fishery managers because fishing license sales are an important revenue source for protection of aquatic resources. This decline is frequently attributed, in part, to increased societal reliance on electronics. Internet use by anglers is increasing and fishery managers may use the Internet as a unique means to increase angler participation. We examined Internet search behavior using Google Insights for Search, a free online tool that summarizes Google searches from 2004 to 2011 to determine (1) trends in Internet search volume for general fishing-related terms and (2) the relative usefulness of terms related to angler recruitment programs across the United States. Though search volume declined for general fishing terms (e.g., fishing, fishing guide), search volume increased for social media and recruitment terms (e.g., fishing forum, family fishing) over the 7-year period. We encourage coordinators of recruitment programs to capitalize on anglers' Internet usage by considering Internet search patterns when creating web-based information. Careful selection of terms used in web-based information to match those currently searched by potential anglers may help to direct traffic to state agency websites that support recruitment efforts.
AB - Declining participation in recreational angling is of great concern to fishery managers because fishing license sales are an important revenue source for protection of aquatic resources. This decline is frequently attributed, in part, to increased societal reliance on electronics. Internet use by anglers is increasing and fishery managers may use the Internet as a unique means to increase angler participation. We examined Internet search behavior using Google Insights for Search, a free online tool that summarizes Google searches from 2004 to 2011 to determine (1) trends in Internet search volume for general fishing-related terms and (2) the relative usefulness of terms related to angler recruitment programs across the United States. Though search volume declined for general fishing terms (e.g., fishing, fishing guide), search volume increased for social media and recruitment terms (e.g., fishing forum, family fishing) over the 7-year period. We encourage coordinators of recruitment programs to capitalize on anglers' Internet usage by considering Internet search patterns when creating web-based information. Careful selection of terms used in web-based information to match those currently searched by potential anglers may help to direct traffic to state agency websites that support recruitment efforts.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84867514794&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03632415.2012.722875
DO - 10.1080/03632415.2012.722875
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84867514794
SN - 0363-2415
VL - 37
SP - 458
EP - 463
JO - Fisheries
JF - Fisheries
IS - 10
ER -