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Any hunting or capture tcchniquo should be analyzed with public
opinion in consideration. However, in Florida, this fact is of greater
importance in tho effectiveness of the management program. An opinion
poll of Florida residents was conducted by FGFC in the mld-1970's
(Hincs and Schaoffer, 1977). The poll disclosed a wide difference in
opinion concerning management of alligators in urban areas; opinions
between hunters and the general public also differed concerning
management of wild alligators. Rolocation by wildlife officers was
listed as tho top choice for management of alligators of all sizes.
However, rolocation of the reportod nuisance animals has boon
demonstrated to create many ecological, safety, and economic problems
(Hincs and Woodward, 1980). Opinions regarding management of
alligators living in the wild differed between hunters and tho general
public; hunters preferred commercial harvests in rural and urban areas,
but the general public favored harvests in rural areas and relocation
in urban areas. This diverse public opinion probably indicated some
prejudices against hunting, especially In urban areas, necessitating a
low profile for effective nuisance alligator management. A program of
information and education was also necessary to increase public
awareness and acceptance of management techniques (Hinos and Schaeffor,
1977). Night hunting of alligators with firoams has much less public
exposure than chocking set hooks in the morning and removing hooked
alligators. Also, the general public will tamper with fishing lines
when exposed, and secluded fishing sites aro often not available.
Another consideration of any hunting technique is the associated
efficiency or hunter success rate. This rate can be determined by
manhours spent/number taken or simply by number of alligators
taken/number of tags or permits issued. Because night hunting involves
more active persuit by the hunter, more hours tend to be spent per
alligator caught. Fishing requires only the time needed to set the
hooks and then check them the next morning. Wariness of alligators
greatly decreases the efficiency of night hunting if done in one area
over an extended period of time (Chabreck, 1963). With the commercial
harvest, tha efficiency of the 2 typos of alligator capture techniques
can be measured and compared. Between 1972 and 1979, the percent
hunter success for the commercial harvest was 91.98% in Louisiana while
only 4 out of 14 hunters reached thoir quotas in the Florida 1981
harvest (Joanen and McNease, 1980, FGFC, 1982).
When comparing the 2 alligator hunting techniques in relation to a
commercial harvest program, one needs to remember that most harvest
plans are based on the theory of compensatory replacement. Management
is sought through maintaining an optimum sustained yield by reducing
the population density to incroaso the growth, survival, and
reproductive effort of the rest of tho population (Stanberry, 1981).
Most harvest plans seeks to restrict tho killing of adult females and
are bias toward adult males. Alligators are polygamous and usually
have a surplus of males in tho population (Chabreck, 1971). By
restricting hunting to after tho sunasar hatching period and banning
"pole" hunting, the kill ratios produced a strong bias toward adult
males with a minimum of adult females takan (Palmisano et al., 1973,
Joanen and McNease, 1980). Both daylight and night hunting methods are
primarily concentrated In deeper water areas and thus equally bias away
from tho adult females. In tho case of alligator population dynamics,
one cannot discuss sex ratios of a potential harvest without also
directly dealing with size ratios.