Sampling took place between 1 October 2006 and 30 June
2008 between Gladstone, Queensland and Eden, New South Wales
(Fig. 1). Specialised LBG fishers comprise a ‘hard-to-reach’ population,
lacking a complete list frame of participants who are rare in the wider community. Therefore, traditional survey methods (e.g.
telephone) are too costly and inefficient for accessing these rare
fishers (Griffiths et al., 2010). The principles of chain-referral and
venue-based sampling methods developed by epidemiologists to
survey rare or ‘hidden’ populations (Magnani et al., 2005) were
used to recruit LBG fishers from a known aggregation point at
an online forum (www.sportfishextreme.com), who were encouraged
to refer other eligible fishers. This approach did not allow for
non-sampling biases (e.g. non-response) to be assessed. However,
respondents covered a wide range of ages and avidity levels, and
were considered generally representative for providing a description
of the LBGF.