The Future of Recreational Fishing --
What is at Stake, and Why Should We Care?

by Kim Ryals, SE Coordinator Volunteer Operations

My master's degree in fisheries management was not quite finished when I was offered the position of Urban Fisheries Biologist in Salt Lake City, UT. I had thrown in my hat for several job announcements across the US thus far, and only received in return a polite "no thank you" for my troubles. The urban position sounded perfect for me. I would be working with communities and local governments to develop urban "fishin holes" and aquatic education for youth and other city-bound residents. My previous career and personal endeavors had provided me with the tools I would need to effectively start and manage an urban program - communication skills, marketing, fundraising, coordinating volunteers, public relations - and as much as I love fish, I was certain I wasn't cut out to come home smelling like them every day.

I had other factors on my side as well. The lead interviewer had funded my master's project and was familiar with my work, and no other qualified candidates had applied (what normal fish head would come down out of the Rocky Mountains to work in a city park?). I got the job, and began to design an urban fishing program that would encompass hands-on education combined with increasing access to fishable urban waters.

The urban waters of Salt Lake County were degraded, as most urban waters around the nation are. So of course, no one fishes them, right? Who would want to stick their fishing pole in mucky, polluted waters? But let's look at this the other way around. Those waters may have remained clean and full of fish, had people been using them. Had anglers all along felt ties to their city waters, they may not have stood by while urbanization spoiled them. The root of aquatic stewardship - does no one fish these waters because they're so degraded, or are they so degraded because no one fishes them?

What I learned while I designed my program troubled me, and I hope it troubles you. There is growing concern amongst government agencies and private industry that the sport of recreational fishing is on the decline. Think that means better opportunities for you personally, including less fishing pressure and more elbow room? Let's think about this again.

According to a 1998 report prepared for the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council, the top 10 outdoor recreational activities involving adults have increased many-fold over the last 20 years:

Activity Percent Growth (1982-1995)

Birdwatching -- 155%
Hiking -- 93%
Backpacking  -- 73%
Downhill Skiing -- 58%
Primitive Camping -- 58%
Walking -- 43%
Motor Boating -- 40%
Sightseeing -- 40%
Developed Camping -- 38%
Swimming in Natural Waters -- 38%

Many things bother me about this list. The only things on here even related to water are swimming and boating (although most of the boating increase is attributed to jet skiers, not often observed to be the most conscientious stewards of waterways). Fishing is not only not on the "Top 10" list, but has actually stagnated or declined in recent years, according to numerous national surveys conducted by public agencies and private organizations. Although license sales have increased in a handful of states, most states have experienced a slowing or serious decline. Between 1990 and 1996, CT witnessed a 22% decline, MA a 27% decline and VT a 38% decline. Most resource managers and investigators attribute these declines to increased urbanization, lack of convenient access to fishable waters, and participants devoting their time to other activities. Overall, license sales across the nation have experienced a 6.9% increase over the same period of time the "Top 10" activities have absolutely boomed.

We all understand where the money to support fishing comes from, yes? And by fishing, I really mean fisheries management, agency biologists, habitat improvement, access to waters, research….you name it, it's supported largely by license sales. Money from license sales goes directly into your state's budget for fisheries management. There is also another source of major funding: The "DJ" money, or "Wallop-Breaux" Act, otherwise known as the Sportfish Restoration Act. Adopted in the 1950's, some consider it the most successful conservation act in the world! It works like this: an excise tax is charged on all sportfishing equipment and motorboat fuel at the manufacturer's level. When you purchase a $2 fly, 20 cents goes to the Sportfish Fund. This money (millions upon millions of dollars) goes to the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, DC, which then turns around and redistributes it to state wildlife agencies, based on the following formula:

Funds you qualify for = square miles of your state + licensed anglers

You can't do anything about your state's size. The only way you can qualify for more federal funding (or lose what you've qualified for in the past!) is the number of licenses sold. A decrease in license sales (such as the ones seen in some NE states) can cut a fisheries management budget from say, 12 million to 9 million dollars in a year. Think your fisheries personnel are strapped for cash now? Declines in license sales result in direct and indirect hits to fisheries management. As a TU member recently put it best - "a smaller piece of a smaller pie". Incidentally, I have never been to a meeting involving state agencies and conservation groups where money wasn't a prevalent complaint on the agenda.

Some other phenomenon to consider:

The age at which freshwater anglers in the US begin fishing:
 
0 – 6 years old:  45%

7 – 12 years old:  45%

13 – 18 years old:  Appr 6%

90% of all freshwater anglers in this country began fishing before age 13. Nearly no one starts fishing, and continues it, from the teen years forward. If a kid isn't hooked on fishing before the teens, you've lost that person, likely forever, as a life-long funding source and steward of freshwater.

It's difficult to become an angler. The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation has identified 5 things that must happen before youth (and probably anyone else) becomes an angler:

1) the intro experience (the first tug on the end of the line)
2) access to equipment
3) access to a fishing location
4) a mentor
5) social support

Fishing, historically, has been passed from one generation to the next, often through a parent (usually Dad), grandparent, or older cousin/brother. The mentor aspect and social support (#'s 4 and 5) were built into this loose system of "passing it on". Increased urbanization, resulting in isolation from quality fishing locales, combined with changes in the family structure, has resulted in the mechanisms of angler recruitment to become quite "sketchy". Increased demands on personal time and tendencies for our society to look for "quick activities" are also causing people to "sign up" for quick clinics in things they're interested in. How-to clinics aimed at customers have helped the "Top 10" activities get huge! REI will show me how to set up a tent, and if I'd like to get into birding, I think all I'd need is a set of binoculars and a book. How would I take up fishing in midlife, if I hadn't been brought up enjoying its rewards, beginning as a toddler?

About the same time I read some of these statistics, I came across an article in Newsweek, describing the active, stressful, busy lives of our youth. The story related how many kids today are "buffet" kids, selecting an hour of music lessons, followed by 2 hours of soccer, and 2 hours of internet…during which parents act as chauffeurs, carting kids to one activity after the other. One woman felt especially progressive in that she "made sure her children went outside for at least 45 minutes a day" and another joked about how her 1 year old became disoriented outside of their mini-van. Over the course of the article, music, organized sports, and computers were mentioned 53 times in 4 pages. No outdoor recreation (of any type) was mentioned once (not even any on the "top 10").

Let's add to that the demos of the average TU member:  White;  Male;  50 years old.

I've asked TU groups who will take care of coldwater resources when they're gone. Many people don't have an answer. The best reply I've heard is "the up and coming 20 and 30 year olds". To that, I usually respond "Where are they tonight?...I wonder if they're hiking…or birding… or on the internet?".  When will they show up? Did they start fishing before their teens, but are just now taking a break? How will we interest them? Will they come?

If you're skeptical, take a look at the American Sportfishing Association, the Tackle Manufacturing Association, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. Why have these groups been spending millions on research during the last decade, to find out why people fish, why they are not fishing anymore, and what can be done to turn this tide?

More interesting tidbits:

A 1996 survey conducted by the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission of all state and other fishery management agencies showed only 4 out of 62 polled had "marketing" programs for fish.

75% of all anglers who give up the sport of fishing quote the reason "not enough time". We still have 24 hours in a day. Ex-anglers are choosing to give their time to another activity, perhaps one that makes itself easier to participate in, or is more publicly advertised than fishing.

Arnie Sedel, VP of The Sports Authority, said that business analysts have never asked him how Berkely, Zebco or Orvis are doing…They only ask how Nike or inline skates are selling. He states that other sports industries are continually working with retailers and other groups to involve participants in their activity.

Mark Duda, of Responsive Management, completed a survey of fly fishers in the late '90's. He said that over 50% of fly fishers had been fly fishing for less than 5 years, and that those trying it are dropping out of the sport in droves.

The 3 largest animal rights groups now have over 1 million members and a combined budget of $37 million. Lots of people and lots of money for their cause and issues. Animal rights groups are targeting schools and school children. Schools seem very willing to let these groups in with mascots to deliver their message to kids. "Gill" the Fish and "Kris B Carrot" from PETA will be visiting as many schools as they can. Recent propaganda PETA has released has featured a picture of the "family dog" with a huge hook through its bleeding mouth, touting the message "you wouldn't do this to your pet, so why do it to the fish?" No matter how you feel about this group, the point is they are out there, and their numbers and funding allow them to get their message out to many.

Wildlife management, presently and in the future, is a public-involved process. I have seen public meetings in a state populated by millions of people go the direction of what a group of bear hunters want…all 12 of them! Point being that the active, vocal, and organized public participants receive what they want from wildlife agencies.

Only 13% of non-anglers report seeing anything in the media in the past year that would interest them in fishing or provide a way to learn about fishing. The good news is that 85% of non-anglers approve of recreational fishing.

By now, if you have any experience with business or business matters, you must be squirming in your seat! Here we have an activity, or product, which youth and others love to try, is nearly addictive in nature, which is one of the few means by which people become active, permanent stewards of the physical environment that supports it, but a little tough to get started in, and its very quality and likelihood of future survival depend upon its active promotion, to any and all groups YET>>>

Where is its formal plan to promote it, protect it, instill it, pass it on, and ensure its survival into the future?

Few private, corporate monies are available to make sure this happens. Public agencies are strapped for cash and time. Wildlife and public outdoor recreation management are falling into the hands of the users. This is fine, and perhaps the way it should have been from the start. But, fishing (and the license sales that support management, research, habitat, access, biologists) will be "competing" with the "Top 10", and most of those activities are either easier to get into than fishing, promoted by a booming outdoor recreational industry, or both!

Who is responsible for passing fishing on, and ensuring the recruitment of lifelong stewards and funding sources? YOU ARE! Aren't you feeling highly respected and overpaid? Quite a responsibility for a volunteer group I'd say, but who else can we turn to?

Fish and fishing is the natural "hook" to aquatic stewardship. Don't let it slip away. Get organized, get vocal, and get out there. Get involved and make a difference.

Clean, cold freshwater doesn't "just happen"!