Globalizing recreational fisheries should not globalize non-native species

Jingrui Sun , Phillip Joschka Haubrock , Ronaldo Sousa, Teun Everts, Huiying Yang, Hugh MacIsaac, Neil Angelo Abreo, Shams M. Galib, Ali Serhan Tarkan, J. Robert Britton, Julian Olden

Recreational fishing continues to expand globally, generating substantial economic, cultural, and social benefits. Yet with this globalization in fishing opportunities comes more diverse pathways for biological invasions. Major concerns are surfacing that the intentional stocking of non-native fishes to initiate or enhance recreational fisheries may facilitate the unsanctioned spread of the target species, as well as the introduction of a host of other species through unintentional pathways. These invasion risks become especially difficult to manage once non-native sport fishes are well established and embedded in local economies, tournament cultures, and angling identities, reinforcing ecological and socioeconomic feedbacks that drive socio-ecological lock-in. Using widely introduced sport fishes as examples, we highlight governance gaps between recreational-fishery development and biosecurity measures associated with invasive species. We propose basin-native target species, context-specific tournament rules, strict containment of non-native fishes in closed waters, and stronger angler biosecurity to reconcile recreational fisheries with biodiversity conservation.