Identifying barriers to participation in angling

1. Identifying barriers to participation in angling Dr. Elizabeth Oughton Prof. Jane Wheelock Dr. Jon Bolland Dr. Geoff Whitman

2. Angling in the Rural Environment Rivers Swale and (Yorkshire) Esk, and the Ure catchment The aim: to analyse the complex network of natural and socioeconomic relationships around angling in the river environment, including institutions of governance and land use practices at a range of interconnected scales

3. Environment Agency Public Attitudes to Angling 2005

4. EA study suggests a latent demand Is it demand or supply that limits participation? How is participation restricted?

5. Supply of angling opportunities Good variety of day fishing: small and large commercial lakes or as a part of a holiday, with a hotel, caravan or B and B Swale and Ure catchments: 59 commercial day ticket 153 stillwaters Some free places to fish on rivers

6. Social aspects of fishing • ‘..I don’t go fishing gladly on my own even now. I’m always ringing up and asking people if they want to come with me on my stretch.’ (Esk angler)

7. Angling clubs vary in the extent to which they welcome members: • ‘Well if somebody who resides in the village wants to be a member and we know that he is not a drug addict or thief and whatever else, we’d welcome him with open arms’ • ‘…we’ve never had a closed membership, we’ve never, some clubs once they got to a number of members closed the membership down and wouldn’t let anybody else in or if you wanted to get in it was waiting for dead men’s shoes, …

9. What makes a good place for fishing?

10. What makes a bad place for fishing?

11. Encouraging greater participation • Provision of a range of different types of angling opportunities • Natural environment, peace and wildlife are very important to anglers • Do not underestimate the social aspects of angling

12. ‘Going fishing’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘getting away from it all’!