Fishing for Food

Abstract

Within recreational fishing, there is an understudied population of people who fish for food. Rather than ‘subsistence fishing,’ we use the more inclusive term, ‘fishing for food’ to mean anyone who consumes their catch, whether or not they rely on it. Learning more about this group is important because ‘fishing for food’ is a practice that has socio-cultural characteristics and a range of values associated with it that are distinct from those traditionally associated with recreational fishing. In this study, qualitative data collected through 80 semi-structured interviews with fishers in Carteret County, North Carolina, were used to gather baseline information and characterize the community of those ‘fishing for food’ in this popular fishing community. Our findings revealed that users of the Newport River Pier and Grayden Paul Drawbridge assign a variety of values to fishing at this free public infrastructure, including access to recreation, nutrition, a social community, and mental health benefits. We also found an informal economy of sharing catch on- or off-site that extends the reach of the infrastructure to people beyond those using it directly.