Interesting story from today Pioneer Press.
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http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/16386585.htm
Fishing’s not hooking as many young people
Officials, industry worry about Minnesota’s recreation future as traditions lose popularity
BY CHRIS NISKANEN
Pioneer Press
A few days ago, Jed Knuttila was ice fishing on White Bear Lake and wondered aloud, “Where are all the kids who used to fish out here?”
It’s now a proven fact — fewer young Minnesotans, especially those ages 16 to 44, are fishing these days, and the decline will likely continue, according to Department of Natural Resources officials.
A new DNR study, to be released today, shows the number of licensed Minnesota anglers ages 16 to 44 declined 11 percent from 2000 to 2005. Minnesota’s population in the same category, however, grew by a half percent during the same period.
Also, the median age of anglers grew from 41 to 43 in those five years, meaning half the state’s anglers were older or younger than those ages. Minnesota’s median age increased more slowly, from 35.4 to 36.2 years, in the same time period.
“From what I can tell, most of us out here are in our 40s and 50s,” said Knuttila, 58, a retired biology teacher who lives in White Bear Lake. “Another guy and I discussed it just the other day — it’s sad, but it seems there aren’t as many kids fishing these days.”
Such numbers are alarming in a state with 1.1 million anglers who contribute millions of dollars in license sales to the DNR and billions of dollars to a sport fishing industry made up of tackle manufacturers, retailers, resort operators and marine dealers.
“We’re concerned about it and concerned about an important tradition in our state,” said Dave Schad, director of the DNR’s Fish and Wildlife Division.
The age of Minnesota hunters and state park users also is rising faster than that of the general population. And national studies show the age of people who watch wildlife and birds for recreation and visit national parks is rising, and that fewer young people are taking up those pastimes.
The number of Minnesota hunters ages 16 to 44 declined 14 percent from 2000 to 2005. As for state park users, “We are seeing some drop-off in participation, especially among young adults ages 16 to 34,” said Carmen Diestler, a spokeswoman for the DNR’s Division of Parks.
A 1991-2001 U.S. Fish and Wildlife study, the most recent available, showed that the national participation rate of hunters and anglers dropped 31 percent and 32 percent respectively for young Americans ages 16 to 24. The number in that age group who watched birds or other wildlife dropped 45 percent.
Total participation in some outdoor activities has increased because of increasing population as a whole. But declining participation rates are the best measure of the activities’ future as the baby boomer generation ages, experts say.
The decline in young people participating in traditional outdoors activities is attributed in general to increased urbanization and a society of young people more interested in electronics and sports. A common refrain, experts said, is that young families don’t have enough time.
“Kids are getting a lot of their experiences from video games, so it always comes back to having enough time,” said Courtland Nelson, director of the DNR’s Division of Parks. “Hence, our interest in getting young families more connected to state parks.”
Nelson said his department will conduct new surveys this summer to try to figure out how to accomplish that. One idea might be to add more playground equipment, which would appeal to mothers, he said.
“Playground equipment will be controversial,” Nelson said, because some park users desire open space and primitive areas.
Schad said the DNR is discussing an active recruitment and marketing campaign to add more anglers and hunters to the state’s ranks.
That might include billboard campaigns or funding more fishing clinics aimed at young people. “Some of the Eastern states have actually tried to market angling opportunities, and they’ve seen real success,” Schad said.
The DNR began to track the ages of hunters and anglers when Minnesota began selling hunting and fishing licenses electronically in 2000.
While Minnesota has experienced a slow decline in the fishing participation rate for decades, increases in the population kept the number of license sales relatively strong, said Tim Kelly, a DNR researcher who wrotethe new report and presents it today at the DNR’s annual citizen roundtable in St. Cloud.
But when he analyzed license sales by age groups for the past years, a startling trend emerged.
“It’s clear that fewer young people are getting involved in fishing and young adults are dropping out,” Kelly said. “Actually, it’s a young adult thing.”
The biggest decline in angling participation, Kelly said, occurred in the 25- to 34-year-old group, where there was a 12 percent drop.
Tim Meers, 58, is a lifelong angler from Maplewood, and he knows the situation well. He took his son, Philip, fishing for the first time when the boy was 18 months old. Today, Philip is 29 and has a year-old son, and grandfather Tim worries that they won’t have time to fish.
“A lot of young families are working hard to make money these days, and they don’t have time,” he said. “I do see a lot more older people fishing than younger families these days.”
Tim Martin, vice president for public relations for St. Paul-based Gander Mountain Co., an outdoors retailer, said his company is anticipating changes in its fishing customers.
He said Gander Mountain is improving its signage and marketing of entry-level rods and reels. It also has a wide line of rods and reels based on cartoon characters.
“I understand the Barbie rod and reel is quite popular among young girls,” he said.
Knuttila worries about a young generation missing out on nature experiences.
“I call it our remote-control society,” he said. “If kids don’t like it, they hit a button and change it. They have a hard time sitting on a bucket and looking at a bobber.”
Chris Niskanen can be reached at [email protected] or 651-228-5524.
Once killing brain cells, skirting the law, and pursuing the fairer sex on a nightly basis lost some of their appeal, I started fishing again. I believe that a lot of the twenty-somethings who stopped buying licenses will return in their thirties and forties when they start families or need a new (old) hobby that gives them more than video games or a night in the bars.
This is a letter to the editor printed in today’s paper. All I can say is WOW!