Keynote: The Evolution of Aquatic Education's Role In Fisheries Conservation

Anglers are a driving force in fisheries conservation. Their financial contributions, political support, contributions of time to habitat restoration and other projects, and one-on-one angler recruitment efforts are astronomical. Therefore it shouldn’t be surprising that traditionally, angling education has served as the focus of aquatic education programs. These programs assumed they were creating both anglers and aquatic stewards. However, for various reasons little evaluation was ever conducted to confirm this belief. As natural resources agencies have began to realize the diversity of our public, the discovery of “churn,” and the declines of fishing license buyers and thus budgets (as well as other factors), programs have evolved and diversified. Angling education still serves as the cornerstone to aquatic education and rightly so as fishing has proven to be a major gateway to the outdoors. However, programs now also employ a variety of in-school components, aquatic ecology programs, and other strategies aimed at increasing a more scientifically literate public that may or may not have a fishing component. Now is a time of enlightenment and advancement for aquatic education. Educators are employing a variety of new outreach methods that can strategically target specific segments of our population with the appropriate program component and much evaluation is occurring to continue moving us forward in our effectiveness and efficiency. It is imperative that aquatic education be given the same priority as other fisheries efforts. For as angling goes and as a scientifically literate public goes, so goes the valuation of our fisheries resources by the public. Without support of the public, both politically and financially, our ability as fisheries professionals to conserve and enhance our fisheries resources will fade to insignificance.