AbstractsRecreation

This study is a quantitative investigation into anglers’ environmental behaviours, as associated with the human-nature relationship, within the context of sustainability and conservation psychology. Although much has been researched around pro-environmental behaviours that link to the household (such as energy use and recycling behaviours) and materialism (buying environmentally friendly products), there is comparatively little to show for variables associated with pro-environmental decision-making that relates to the protection of nature. One such environmental problem involves the disregard for environmental laws protecting marine life. The study aimed to extend this line of research by looking at certain environmental fishing behaviours in a sample of recreational False Bay anglers, and using their relationship with nature (i.e. the degree to which the self recognises an interconnectedness between humans and the natural world) to explain these behaviours. Participants were required to sign a consent form, and participated anonymously in the study, particularly due to the sensitive nature of the information they disclose. A convenience sample of 99 anglers was assessed. ANOVA yielded significant biographical differences in NR with regards to particular age, level of education and residential area groups. Logistic regression analysis indicated that Nature Relatedness had significant predictive capacity for these environmental behaviours ( = 0.061), although the Nature Relatedness subscales did not. In conclusion it was speculated that NR might not offer a deep explanation for environmental behaviours in this group, considering a weak correlation between NR and behaviour (r = -.186) and the inability of the NR subscales to predict behaviour. Further research in this area is needed to provide more conclusive results.