#06–248 September 18, 2006

Youth fishing survey finds angling gains popularity

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources recently received results of a survey of youth participation in and attitudes toward fishing and aquatic resources in South Carolina. The survey found a significant increase in overall fishing participation since 2001, and that fathers are the most common person to introduce youth to fishing.

Responsive Management, a natural resources survey research firm in Harrisonburg, Va., developed the telephone survey questionnaire cooperatively with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR), partly based on and compared with a previous survey conducted in 2001. The S.C. Natural Resources Board, the policy-making body of DNR, will release the entire survey results to the public after full review. The study entailed a telephone survey of randomly sampled South Carolina youth, ages 8 to 18 in May through June 2006.

Some results of the survey include:

A significant increase was noted in overall fishing participation in 2006 compared to 2001 findings. This included youth participation in freshwater fishing participation and/or saltwater fishing in the 12-month timeframe prior to the surveys.
A father is, by far, the most common person to introduce youth to fishing, distantly followed by other male family members—grandfathers and uncles.
When asked directly about parents’ participation in fishing, about three-fourths of South Carolina youth say that their father fishes, while about a third say that their mother fishes. Interestingly, males are more likely than are females to say that their father fishes. In follow-up questions, fathers are more avid than mothers in fishing, as fathers more often fish a lot than do mothers.
Compared with 2001, there were significant increases in those saying their grandfather or a family friend taught them to fish. There was a decline in those saying their brother taught them to fish.
Most commonly, South Carolina youth with fishing experience say that they fish for anything that bites. Bass, catfish, and bream (or sunfish) are the most commonly fished species.
Fishing and biking are the most popular outdoor recreational activities among South Carolina youth, followed by visiting a state or national park, watching wild animals or birdwatching, motorboating, hiking, and camping in a tent.

Anglers in South Carolina spend almost $742 million to fish each year, making the sport, with economic multipliers factored in, a billion dollar business in the Palmetto State. Check the DNR page http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/licensing.html for information on fishing regulations, licenses and more.

More News