Recruitment and Retention of Anglers: Opportunities and Barriers

Effective programs that address recruitment and retention of anglers require the employment of multiple strategies and multiple partners.  We propose that many agencies and organizations have effective recruitment programs.  The greater issue is that these same entities are largely ineffective in retaining recently recruited anglers.  Lack of retention is most acute among young people, but is also a problem among adults.  We examine the issue of retention by identifying barriers that new anglers encounter and discussing strategies that could be employed to increase retention.