2015 Conference

Poster Presentation

Ice fishing is a sport that relies on cold winter conditions in order to freeze a lake thick enough to support anglers, fish shanties, even their vehicles. An emerging problem in the northeastern states is the impact that climate change is predicted to have on ice fishing conditions. Changes in the annual dates of first ice and ice melt have already been observed on Lake George, New York, a popular fishing destination in the Adirondack Park. Anticipated climate change has serious implications for the future of this traditional sport and the health of the winter rural economies that have come to depend on fishing gear and tourism dollars. The objective of this project was to apply a qualitative social science research approach to understanding public perceptions by interviewing avid ice fishing individuals about environmental changes they have noted over the years. Fisheries managers from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as well as owners of local tackle and bait shops were interviewed to obtain their expert opinions on the matter as well. The data for this project were the coded interview transcripts that were analyzed with a technique called “grounded theory approach” in hopes of finding emerging themes and shared impressions about issues salient to these anglers on ice. Preliminary findings indicate that issues of public lake access, lake trout abundance, and the proliferating use of ice management devices (a.k.a. bubblers) by lakefront property owners outweigh any angler concerns about climate change. Our goal is to develop a model of stakeholder perceptions of social and environmental conditions affecting the future outlook for ice fishing in New York State.