Epidemiologists and social scientists have developed novel
social network sampling methods to tackle a similar problem of
cost-effectively obtaining a representative sample of subjects and
estimating the size of hard-to-reach populations, such as illicit drug
users and the homeless. Given that LBG fishers appear to be socially
connected, particularly through a single internet forum, chainreferral
sampling methods such as Respondent-Driven Sampling
(RDS) may have potential as a cost-effective method for specialised
fisheries (Griffiths et al., 2010), possibly using web-based
implementation (Wejnert and Heckathorn, 2008). An approach to
subsequently estimate population size of specialised fisheries –
required for estimating total catch by expansion – may be to employ
capture–recapture approaches, used successfully on the homeless
(Dávid and Snijders, 2002).