The document discusses managing recreational and tourism users in marine protected areas (MPAs), highlighting issues such as resistance from recreational anglers towards no-take zones and the complexities within different user sub-groups. It addresses barriers to engagement between protected area agencies and user groups, as well as the need for effective knowledge management and socio-ecological system considerations in management planning. The text emphasizes understanding user dynamics and improving processes for better engagement and management effectiveness.

1. Managing Recreational and Tourism Users of
Marine Protected Areas:
Issues, Engagements and Processes
Human Dimensions in Marine Protected Areas Focus Group
2nd International Marine Conservation Congress
Victoria, BC
May 15 & 16, 2011
R.J. Payne
Lakehead University

2. Managing Recreational and Tourism Users
Introduction
● Context:
– Established MPA
● Note that those established longer have more
acceptance from all users and, perhaps, fewer
issues
– Recreational and tourism use are occurring
– Issues; engagements; processes

3. Managing Recreational and Tourism Users
Issues
● Recreational angling
– Anglers, while generally supporting MPAs, often resist no-
take zones
– Are we justified in assuming that anglers are a homogeneous
group?
● Catch & release; equipment; species
– Are there sub-groups within the angling group?
– What variables set these sub-groups apart?

4. Managing Recreational and Tourism Users
Issues
● Commercial tourism
– A possible partnership between MPA agencies and
commercial tourism operators
– Who are the commercial tourism operators' clients
– Might data be shared for mutual benefit?
– What messages might commercial tourism operators deliver
for MPA agencies?
– Can we measure the effectiveness of the messages and the
delivery?

5. Managing Recreational and Tourism Users
Engagements
● Protected area agencies
– Do protected area agencies mount barriers to engaging with
relevant user groups?
– The role of agency culture:
● e.g., DFO – a regulatory agency
– Can we identify through research barriers to engagement
within agency cultures?
– Do agency staff have barriers that inhibit their engagement?
– Can we identify those barriers through research?

6. Managing Recreational and Tourism Users
Engagements
● User “groups”
– See earlier concern about activity groups under “Issues”
– Are some groups/sub-groups especially difficult to engage?
● Perhaps: e.g., boaters in the Lake Superior NMCA
– What might account for these difficulties?
● Distrust of government?
● Characteristics of the users themselves?
– How do we determine what barriers exist and why they exist
among groups?

7. Managing Recreational and Tourism Users
Processes
● Knowledge Management: understanding recreational and
tourism users
– What needs to be known about visitors?
– What data collection methods are required?
– What models do we need?
– What needs monitoring?
– How effective are existing knowledge management systems?

8. Managing Recreational and Tourism Users
Processes
● Socio-ecological systems: management planning
– How can consideration of human dimensions and natural
science be “forced” together?
● Are there successful examples?
– Do agencies have the capacity do do this sort of management
planning?
– How useful are existing approaches to management
effectiveness in relation to management planning?

9. Managing Recreational and Tourism Users
Judgments
● Issues
– Deeper analysis: are issues associated with activity groups or
with sub-groups?
● Engagements
– Barriers: are there barriers that inhibit engagement between
agencies and user groups?
● Processes
– Are there examples of processes that are effective in
managing recreation and tourism use?