Saltwater Anglers toward Marine Environmental Threats Using Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network Framework

Abstract

The data for this study extracted from the 2013 National Saltwater Angler Survey is to understand saltwater recreational anglers’ concerns to the threats of marine environment and to identify groups exhibiting common patterns of response. Concerns of marine environmental threats from these participants were examined through factor analysis which identified three reliable factors. Cluster analysis was employed to identify three prominent groups. The multilayer perceptron neural network was utilized as a predictive model in deciding saltwater recreational anglers’ perceptions toward marine environmental threats. In the architectural point of view, it showed a 13-6-3 neural network construction. The results revealed that “overfishing in commercial fisheries” contributed most in the neural network model construction, followed by “industrial pollution”, “oil and gas extraction”, “marine habitats loss or degradation”, “climate change”, and so forth. Results of this study may provide insight regarding the concerns of marine environmental threats from saltwater recreational anglers as an indicator of potential participation and behavior of saltwater recreational fisheries management.