About

The Social and Community Benefits of Angling: A 3-Year Research Project by Substance,
funded by the Big Lottery Fund
A major, new research programme on the social and community benefits of angling is running from 2009-2011. The research is being carried out by Substance and is funded by the Big Lottery Fund, entitled: ‘The Social and Community Benefits of Angling’.

The project is to investigate the roles angling can play for those who participate in it, young people and the communities in which it takes place.

Advisory Group
The Project Advisory Group includes: Environment Agency, Angling Trust, Angling Development Boards in England and Scotland, Get Hooked on Fishing, Trout in the Town and Dr Liz Oughton, Newcastle University.

Why Is the Research Needed?
Millions of people go fishing, but not much is widely known about the activity in terms of the particular benefits individuals, young people and local communities can get from it.

There have been some big claims made about angling - that it has a range of benefits for participants (including health, volunteering, socialisation); that it can help young people in terms of education and social inclusion; and that it can help develop rural communities and local environments.

Yet the evidence base for this work is under-developed and organisations involved, as well as policymakers, need more research to understand, develop and maximise angling’s profile. Those representing angling need such information to help ‘make the case’ for public and government support.

The project is working closely with angling and community organisations and charities, policymakers and anglers to help address gaps in knowledge and provide evidence of angling’s role to help influence changes in policy as well as highlight best practice.

Project Focus
There are 3 core aspects of the project:

  1. Angling Participation is researching the wide variety of different practices in angling, how individuals benefit from that and what the wider benefits for communities are. Find out more about Angling Participation.
  2. Angling and Young People explores how angling can be of benefit to young people in different ways and best practice in doing this. Find out more about Angling and Young People.
  3. Angling in Assynt - Angling and Rural Areas is investigating the role that angling plays in rural areas, and how benefits for local communities can be increased sustainably. Find out more via our Angling Participation pages.


Downloads

The documents below give further information on the project: