From Across the Pond: Angling participation and angling’s social benefits in the UK

This paper will outline recent research about angling participation and its social and economic impacts in the UK. It will summarise a number of recent studies that have been undertaken by research company Substance in conjunction with angling, government and non-government organisations in the UK.

There has been an increasing interest in the social and economic impact of angling in UK over the last decade, which has been driven by a desire to maximise income from angling, increase angling participation, new obligations to report recreational catches and the development of ‘sport for development’ approaches,

Substance has been involved in a number of studies that have sought to provide new insight into issues of rates, frequency and motivations for angling participation; economic benefit from angling; and ‘societal benefits’ of angling, including health and well being, physical activity, environmental improvement and rural development.

This paper will highlight some of the key findings from this work, including new research into angler numbers, ‘participation churn’ and behavioural change; estimations of economic impact; and intrinsic and instrumental benefits from participation in angling. It will also reflect on some of the methodological approaches taken and some of the concerns with and learning from these.