Angling fish for food: 11 per cent of world’s freshwater fish caught by amateurs

According to a new study, rod and reel fishing is much more than a recreational activity as it makes an important contribution to the diet in many regions of the world. 

The research, published in Nature Food, estimates that recreational fishing accounts for more than 11 per cent of reported harvest in inland fisheries worldwide. 

An international team of experts – which included academics from the University of Portsmouth in England – investigated the nutritional and economic importance of fish consumption from recreational fishing in 56 countries, where this data could be gathered.

Co-author Dr Louisa Wood, from the University of Portsmouth’s Psychology Department and Centre for Blue Governance, said: “Inland recreational fisheries represent an under-recognised and undervalued food source that provide an affordable and sustainable contribution to human nutrition. In this paper, we quantitatively value the nutritional and economic contribution of inland recreational fisheries on a global scale, which is an important step towards integrating inland fisheries into food systems planning.”

Self-caught freshwater fish is important for nutrition and micronutrient supply, especially in countries such as Canada, Poland, Argentina, Scandinavia and Germany.

Due to climate change and direct human impacts on freshwater ecosystems, the productivity of important fish species such as trout and salmon is declining, affecting the nutritional services offered by rivers and lakes.

Eleven per cent of the world's freshwater fish are caught by anglers

Around 280 million recreational anglers catch more than 1.3 million tons of freshwater fish every year. This means that recreational fishing contributes significantly to the total fish yield of inland fisheries worldwide - more precisely, 11.3 per cent of the reported 11.5 million tons of freshwater fish are caught by anglers. 

However, these figures do not appear in global fishing statistics, as recreational fishing is traditionally not recorded there. Yet, recreational fishing is the dominant form of inland fishing in all industrialised countries today. In Germany alone, anglers take about ten times more fish from inland waters than commercial fisheries. There are more than 3 million anglers in the country. By country, Canada, Poland and Argentina consume the most fish per angler from inland waters. 

Professor Robert Arlinghaus, from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology (IGB) and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, said: "The fact that Germany is so far ahead is due to the popularity of the hobby. On the other hand, in Germany, going fishing to catch for dinner is considered good practice. This means that many anglers also fish to eat the fish they catch.”

Salmonid species such as trout and salmon, perch, zander, walleye, and pike are popular among anglers worldwide. In Europe, carp and other carp-like fish (cyprinids), eel and catfish are also popular. 

Contribution of self-caught fish to a healthy diet

The researchers analysed the importance of recreational fishing for the self-sufficiency in important nutrients in each country. One important factor is vitamin B12, an essential micronutrient that is abundant in fish and other seafood and is important for human health, including bone development, red blood cell formation and nerve function. 

The nutritional benefits of harvested fish are highly dependent on the fish species and the amount of fish consumed, both of which were considered in the calculations.

In general, the nutritional contribution of home-caught fish as a proportion of total fish and seafood consumption in society is particularly high in Austria, Belarus, Argentina, Belgium and Poland. In the case of vitamin B12, anglers in Canada and Bangladesh were the main beneficiaries, as these people do not get enough vitamin B12 from other fish and seafood.

Total consumption value of harvested fish is around 10 billion US dollars per year

The researchers determined the total consumptive value of freshwater fish harvested by recreational anglers based on comparable offers at local market prices. 

Worldwide, the total consumption value of fish caught for personal consumption was estimated as US$9.95 billion per year. Canada ($2.74 billion), China ($2.57 billion) and the United States ($2.38 billion) led the way. In seven other countries, the value was over 100 million US dollars per year. 

Threats by climate change

Recreational fisheries are also facing the challenges of climate change: the success of adaptation will vary depending on the fish species and climatic conditions. The researchers identified Iceland, New Zealand, Denmark and Kenya as the countries with the highest climate sensitivity of fish species consumed in recreational fisheries. 

Looking at the countries where anglers consume the most fish, Canada and a number of European countries are among the most vulnerable. In addition to climate change, other environmental changes, such as damming of rivers, also have a negative impact on the productivity of fish stocks.

Inland water management should take greater account of nutritional aspects

The authors point out that more data is needed to reduce the uncertainties in these estimates and to investigate further issues. This includes possible negative health effects, such as the risk of ingesting toxins from self-caught fish.

Professor Wood added: “Integration of recreational fisheries into the management of inland waters is important for food security, particularly given the increasingly threatened nature of these systems. Self-caught fish is among the most sustainable forms of animal protein accessible to people and we need to ensure that these food systems are sustainable across multiple sectors and climate resilient for those that rely on them.”