Recreational fishing a favourite hobby of Finnish youth

Recreational fishing is a favourite hobby among Finnish schoolchildren and youths – particularly boys – a new survey has discovered.

The European Anglers Alliance (EAA) member, the Finnish Federation for Recreation Fishing (FFRF) reports impressive results from a national school survey by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture which asked those in primary and secondary school education about their preferred hobbies. Angling was included for the first time in the survey of more than 112,000 youngsters from 1,300 schools across the country.

The report found:

• In the desired hobbies of boys in grades 4-5 (10 – 12 years) angling came in second place (26%);
• In grades 1-3 (seven to nine) angling was fourth (26%);
• Fishing was the third most popular hobby among boys in secondary schools (17%);
• Taking all responses into account, a quarter (25%) ranked angling as their preferred hobby.

Olli Saari, Executive Director of the FFRF, said: “This is an excellent indication of the popularity of angling among young people. It is great that it is a dream hobby for so many schoolchildren. Now we have an even greater opportunity to develop angling as a hobby that is accessible and versatile for young people.”

He added that the increase in popularity has been influenced significantly by the volunteer work done by fishing clubs. “They organise numerous camps, competitions and events all year round where children and young people can get to know about the sport in a safe and inspiring way.”

A major challenge for the FFRF is to further encourage young women/girls to take up angling as an outdoor hobby. In this context it established the Mimmit Kalastaa project (Gals Fishing) in 2021.