Recreational fishing is a sport and leisure activity in many countries worldwide and approximately 11% of the global population engage in recreational fishing.
Fishing is plausibly linked to improved health through it being a therapeutic activity that is carried out in blue and green spaces, which have both been independently linked to better physical and mental health parameters.
There has been growing interest by recreational fishing groups and researchers in the health benefits of fishing. However, to date research in this area is limited and no robust research exists that has been carried out in the UK. Moreover, little is known about why people engage in recreational fishing and why people do not engage.
The aim of the research project - believed to be the first of its kind - is to identify the physical and mental health benefits of recreational fishing in the UK and understand how the wellbeing of those who participate in fishing compares to those who do not.
Both anglers and non anglers are encouraged to complete an online questionnaire (below). The researchers need many as possible to get involved in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Access the Great British and Northern Irish Fishing for Health Survey
Image: Professor Lee Smith (left) from Anglia Ruskin University talking to an angler