In this essay, we explore the idea that slow social change may cause degradation of the open access equilibrium in recreational fisheries. An existing bioeconomic model illustrates how three social quantities in the recreational fisheries social–ecological system—the marginal cost of fishing effort, catchability, and the relative importance of catch and effort to angler utility—influence equilibrium fish abundance. We speculate that slow directional changes in all three of these quantities may be common, driving gradual declines in abundance that may be difficult to detect. We present limited evidence in support of this speculation, highlight the need for further empirical work, and discuss the implications of slow social change for resilient management of recreational fisheries in a changing world.

中文翻译：

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缓慢的社会变革：对开放获取休闲渔业的影响

在本文中，我们探讨了缓慢的社会变化可能导致休闲渔业中开放获取平衡退化的观点。现有的生物经济模型说明了休闲渔业社会生态系统中的三个社会量——捕捞努力的边际成本、捕捞能力以及捕捞和努力对垂钓者效用的相对重要性——如何影响平衡鱼类丰度。我们推测所有这三个数量的缓慢方向变化可能很常见，从而导致可能难以检测的丰度逐渐下降。我们提供了有限的证据来支持这一推测，强调需要进一步的实证工作，并讨论缓慢的社会变革对不断变化的世界中休闲渔业弹性管理的影响。