Angling is dying out

 ANGLING is a dying pastime according to Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust.

Older anglers are leaving the sport but youngsters are just not taking it up, with the Angling Trust embarking on a campaign to try to encourage young people to take up fishing as more and more of the older generation give it up.

Changing patterns

The trust, which represents coarse anglers in England and Wales, believes the sport’s failure to attract youngsters stems from the changing patterns in the way children spend their leisure time, with Mark commenting:

“There has been a significant decline in the numbers of people taking up the sport in recent years. We need to recognise that angling will wither away unless we get more people fishing.

“The angling population is ageing and we don’t have enough youngsters coming in. Leisure habits are changing as parents are increasingly worried about safeguarding issues and children spend more time on computer screens.”

Rod licences down 300,000

Environment Agency statistics show that over the last 10 years the number of rod licences has dropped by nearly 300,000, with a 10% fall since last September.

We too have noticed fewer anglers on the canals and rivers over the years, not having seen the previously all too often anglers on lock moorings now a thing of the past, and days passing without seeing a single one.