POSTED: 4:55 pm EDT April 28, 2008
SANDUSKY, Ohio -- Concerned about the declining number of people
fi****ng, Ohio's wildlife leaders are handing out free fi****ng poles to
kids and teaching them how to snag a walleye.
Those are just a couple of the programs designed to build a new
generation of anglers.
The number of fi****ng licenses sold has dropped dramatically over the
past two decades.
During the 1980s, about a million Ohio residents held fi****ng licenses
each year. Two years ago the number was down 662,867.
"It just seems like a heck of a large segment of young folks are out
of touch with the natural world," Ray Petering, the Ohio Division of
Wildlife's executive administrator of fish management. "They're
content to play video games and stay inside all day."
It's not just Ohio that is seeing a drop in fi****ng.
Wildlife officials say the declining number of fi****ng and hunting
licenses nationwide is the hottest topic among natural resources
agencies across the country.
Ohio's natural resources department has increased its outdoor
education programs, including hunting and fi****ng education courses.
"We're trying desperately to maintain that connection to the
outdoors," Petering said. "The decision to hunt and fish is an
individual decision. We just want to make sure that these young folks
at least have some exposure to these outdoor activities."
Some activities, such as camping, hiking and bird watching, are
growing in popularity, he said.
The number of fi****ng licenses sold did go up two years ago following
a good hatching year for fish in Lake Erie in 2003.
"Lake Erie is the primary driver of license sales," Petering said. "We
really bucked a state and national trend when we showed an increase
and everybody else had a decrease."
Jack Tibbels, who owns Tibbels Marina and Charter Service in
Marblehead, said families are the ones who need to help promote
outdoors activities.
"The grandfathers are out here in great force, taking their grandkids
fi****ng because they've done it," he said. "That's all we do. We go
someplace hunting and we take them with us."
http://www.wlwt.com/news/16038859/detail.html
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