UK trade body backs biggest sea angling survey for decade

The body that represents the tackle industry in the UK is backing one of the largest-ever studies of sea angling in the country.

The Angling Trades Association (ATA) is supporting the Catchwise Project which is being carried out as a partnership involving research company Substance, the fishing governing body, The Angling Trust, and the Government’s marine science organisation, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS). It is being funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Catchwise will run from this year to 2024 and the data collected will be provided to national and local policy makers to make better informed decisions on fisheries management as well as provide the fishing governing bodies and the sea angling community with information to help them develop their own views and policies.

“By having data that is as accurate as possible about what is caught, released and spent by sea anglers in England and Wales helps enable the fishing community to demonstrate its impact more effectively,” said a spokesperson for the Catchwise Project.

The survey will involve:

• A face-to-face survey of hundreds of sea anglers fishing from the shore and private boats

• An online survey of charter boat skippers

And it will survey sea anglers about:

• Their sea angling activity and experiences – how often they fish and how long they have been active

• Their catches

• Spending and the benefits they get from fishing

The data will be invaluable to the industry as it will provide an estimate of participation levels, catches by species, the economic value of sea angling and its social impact.

Find out more here