Fishers and environment in the wild

Nature experiences and participation in nature-based activities in protected areas are becoming more popular, both having an important part to play in rekindling the connection between humans and the natural environment. Governments and non-governmental organisations safeguard natural wild places to preserve the visual beauty of the landscapes and their natural resources in areas with high natural and cultural significance while facilitating recreational activities. In Tasmania, Australia, flyfishers and their flyfishing activities are understudied in protected wild areas. Therefore, this thesis investigates the relationship of flyfishers with the wild-protected terrestrial environment of Tasmania in order to: (a) understand the effects of trampling by recreational fishers on paths and vegetation communities, (b) assess the biophysical impacts of informal camping on soils, fauna, flora, and vegetation, (c) determine flyfishers' motivation, perception, and social and environmental concerns and (d) dissect arguments and conflicts over the proposed development of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area helicopter-accessed tourism and accommodation development. Chapters two and three used field observations and measurements to determine the effects of fishers on path and campsite formation on the Central Plateau in Tasmania. In chapter four, semi-structured interviews were conducted with flyfishers to understand their perceptions, motivations, and concerns. A critical discourse analysis was used to understand the arguments for and against a specific tourism development promoting fly-in-fly?out helicopters in the Tasmania Wilderness World Heritage Area for chapter five. Flyfishers caused changes to the floral assemblages and widened the paths parallel to a range of alpine lakes. They also caused an increase in soil compaction and acidity and facilitated exotic plant colonisation in camp areas associated with flyfishing in the Central Plateau. The soils from sixteen firepits associated with the informal campsites had higher pH, electrical conductivity, and soil water content than the surrounding unburned ground. Campsite vegetation had more native herbs and grasses than controls and attracted native animals, including the endangered Tasmania devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). The profiles of flyfishers identified through the semi structured interview include social, trophy, hunter-gatherer, and outdoor enthusiast fly fishers. Each type of flyfishers interacted with the wild differently. Littering, four-wheel drives, motorised boat fishing, and fishing site overcrowding were their biggest social concerns, while pests, pets, weeds, trampling, track formation, drying out of waterbodies and live bait were their most pressing environmental concerns. Most of the arguments on the proposed heli-tourism activities in the Tasmania Wilderness World Heritage Area were value-based, allowing only a political resolution, but some could be resolved through research. Flyfishers are place-conscious people who form social communities that promote environmental stewardship. However, flyfishers and flyfishing activities has both positive and negative indicative effects on the environment of the Central Platea in Tasmania. Failure to engage traditional users of the Tasmania Wilderness World Heritage Area in developmental decision-making processes for wild places could exacerbate conflicts. There is a need to monitor to prevent native plant community changes, control visitation, and identify sites at risk of degradation. Improving the accessibility to a wild natural environment for one group may result in decreased access for another group, and increased access to natural places may result in increased crowding and deterioration of such natural environments.