Young anglers – have your say on the future of fishing

Are you a member of a junior club? Do you take part in fishing competitions? Have you been through a fishing project? Have you done fishing in school? What do you get out of fishing?

A national angling survey is calling on young people to share their experiences of fishing, as part of new research looking at the health, wellbeing and educational benefits of angling for youngsters.

The online survey asks people aged 18 or under why they go fishing, how angling can be improved for young people and how fishing has helped them.

Youngsters can submit their stories which will later appear on a ‘wall’ within the angling research website, explaining how fishing has affected their lives.

Initial research by social research co-operative Substance, shows that angling is well suited to help underachieving young people - boosting their confidence, re-engaging them with learning and challenging anti-social behaviour.

In addition to surveying young people, Substance have launched a second questionnaire for angling organisations, schools, community groups and youth inclusion projects that are using angling to engage youngsters.

This questionnaire aims to analyse the range of positive work being done through angling across the UK. Substance wants to build a comprehensive picture of angling's youth offer, identifying best practice, informing education, health and social policy and making the case for future funding for angling projects.

In addition to the online surveys, researchers are visiting angling projects, such as Get Hooked On Fishing and angling activities across the country to interview young people and youth workers.

The research is part of a three year research programme looking at the Community and Social Benefits of Angling, led by Substance and funded by the Big Lottery Fund.

To contribute to either survey visit www.anglingresearch.org.uk/youngpeople