The Social Significance of Perceptions of Fish Species and Fishing

Abstract

This paper explores the world of anglers. They represent a large hobbyist group that engages in a wide range of fishing techniques used to catch around twenty freshwater fish species. Most anglers are “specialized” in one or two fish species, which they pursue using specific equipment and particular methods. Anglers who fish for a specific species hold that fish in high regard and emphasize its positive traits; they identify with other anglers who target the same species. When these perceptions of fish and fishing are compared with anglers’ material conditions, the prices of fishing gear, and the use of the catch as food, a stratified structure of this broad hobby group emerges—one based on economic characteristics. This, in turn, influences the formation of different perceptions of fish that serve as the group’s “emblem.”