Recreational fishing increased in Norway during the pandemic
This article is produced and funded by Institute of Marine Research – read more.
In many parts of the world, the opposite was true, a new study shows.
Norway is one of the countries in the world with the highest participation in recreational fishing. About a third of the population fishes in the sea at least once a year.
– This is among the highest participation in the world. Many other countries, even with long coastal stripes, have between one and seven percent participation, says marine scientist Keno Ferter.
Asked 6000 recreational fishermen
But in March 2020, something happened that turned most people’s lives upside down – both in Norway and in many other countries. The corona pandemic came and society shut down.
How is recreational fishing at sea in Norway and the rest of the world affected?
It has found out. They conducted a survey among 6,000 recreational fishermen in 15 countries. In addition, experts from 16 on how they viewed the land situation.
Norwegian recreational fishermen were not included in the study, but researcher Keno Ferter at the Institute of Marine Research was one of the experts who was asked about the situation in Norway.
Now is the result published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Marine Sciencewith Ferter as one of the co-authors.
Norwegian authorities encourage outdoor activities
In Norway, researchers distinguished between foreign tourist fishermen and local recreational fishermen who fish in the sea.
– Due to the entry ban in large parts of 2020, there was of course a solid decline in foreign tourist fishermen. This also corresponds with the other countries, says Ferter.
But for recreational fishing in the sea, the picture is different.
– What is a little special is that in Norway it was allowed to go fishing. The authorities actually encouraged outdoor activities to deal with the situation. This was not the case in many other countries, says the researcher.
Sales of fishing kits increased by 87 percent in the period March-September 2020
Market analysis
The sale of fishing equipment to heaven
While many of the other countries in the study experienced a decline in recreational fishing, especially during the first closure, the exact opposite happened in Norway:
- Sales of fishing kits increased by 87 per cent in the period March-September 2020 compared with the same period last year at one of the Nordic region’s largest sport fishing shops online, according to a market analysis from the payment company Klarna.
- The number of registered lobster fishermen increased by 23 percent from 2019 to 2020. Sales of fishing sets increased by 87 percent in the period March-September 2020
– Recreational fishing among permanent residents in Norway only became more popular, and it may have helped many to deal with the crisis. We can probably assume that fishing in Norway has contributed positively to many people’s mental health, says Ferter.
Slept worse and was in a worse mood
In the countries where there was poorer access to fishing, the fishermen answered that they had been less physically active and ate less fish than they used to. This was especially true of the most eager fishermen.
Many of them also reported poor sleep, bad mood and more concern for their own health.
“The restrictions have probably exacerbated the negative effects of the pandemic for the most engaged fishermen,” says Ferter.
Reference:
Pablo Pita et al .: First assessment of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on global marine recreational fisheries. Frontiers in Marine Science2021. Doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.735741