Environmental equifinality: (Re)Examining predictors of specific responsible environmental behaviours in Australian recreational fishing environments

Environmental stewardship is essential to conserving recreational fishing areas. This thesis explores the characteristics of Australians engaged in such stewardship. A novel theoretical perspective (complexity theory) and methodology (fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis) uncovers complex configurational mechanisms, with multiple equifinal solutions identified as sufficient for performance of stewardship behaviours. Configurations predictive of stewardship differ between environmental organisation members and non-members. While there are numerous, varied configurations sufficient for performance among environmental organisation members, there are fewer among non-members, indicating only a specific subset of non-members perform these behaviours. These findings can inform targeted recruitment and engagement strategies for environmental stewardship participation.