Catchwise

Catchwise is a new survey of sea angling taking place across England and Wales in 2023 and 2024. The project has been co-developed with sea anglers and aims to significantly improve the recognition of the sport’s value to coastal communities and inform relevant fisheries management decisions accurately.

It will be the biggest single study of sea angling undertaken for over a decade and will involve a major shore and private boat survey of sea anglers as well as an online survey of charter boats. Catchwise will involve face-to-face surveys with thousands of sea anglers around the English and Welsh coasts. Recruitment for volunteer surveyors is now open.

Catchwise is the first project of its kind to feature collaboration with the sea-angling community on this scale. Representatives across the angling community from organisations like the Angling Trades Association, Angling Cymru and the Institute of Fisheries Management, will join an Advisory Group comprised of individual anglers, charter skippers, scientists, fisheries managers, and government agencies to provide input throughout the project’s duration.

The Angling Trust has partnered with Substance and Cefas on the Catchwise project over concerns regarding previous surveys focused on sea angling and their increasing contribution to fisheries management and policy. It is funded through the UK Seafood Scheme: Fisheries Industry Science Partnership scheme provided by the UK government.

The project will report in early 2025 and will help inform the funding of sea angling, demonstrate its importance to coastal communities and highlight recreationally valuable species.

Recreational anglers catch around 100 species each year, many of which are non-quota and non-commercial stocks, and this project will provide new and improved data on data-poor stocks that are important recreationally. These include gurnards, black seabream, John Dory, pilchards, lemon sole, cod, whiting, hake, saithe, ling, and skates and rays.

Visit the Catchwise Project Website

Get Involved

Become a Citizen Scientist: Volunteer Recruitment Now Open

We want an army of volunteer Angling Citizen Scientists across England and Wales to help our professional surveyors to survey anglers and increase the reach of the project.

All volunteers will get training on how to conduct surveys, guidance and support. Volunteers will also receive a range of other benefits including monthly prize draws, goodies, social media groups with fellow volunteers, a welcome pack and a certificate detailing your contribution to the project.

If you are interested in volunteering and can access the coast in England and Wales, express your interest: smartsurvey.co.uk/s/CatchwiseVolunteers

Contribute to the survey

All surveys of shore and private boat anglers will be conducted face-to-face to get the very best data. Sites will be selected at random, and you may well be approached if you are out fishing. If so, please give your time as your information is really important to creating a better fishing experience for recreational sea angling in the future. Even if you are not catching, please speak to a surveyor! All surveyors will be identifiable by their ID badge.

Meet the Team

Dr Samantha Hook

Research Analyst, Substance

Sam did her PhD in shark, ray and skate conservation, where she first started working with sea anglers and charter boats to gain non-intrusive samples to better understand the populations they fish. Since joining Substance in 2017, Sam has worked on many marine based projects including the Sea Angling Diary, an MMO Sea Angler Mapping Project and now Catchwise! She has improved her knowledge and expertise in research and evaluation and has recently published on the impacts of COVID on sea angler health and wellbeing.

Galini Samlidou

Project Coordinator, Angling Trust

Galini has a Conservation Biology degree and a background in managing some of the most important sea turtle conservation projects in the Mediterranean. She has a wealth of experience in organising and implementing in-situ conservation actions, ensuring accurate data collection, managing large groups of volunteers, developing field survey logistics and performing habitat assessments. She has successfully run numerous fundraising and public awareness programs, engaging with stakeholders, and highlighting the ecological and socio-economic value of conserving wildlife and their habitats. Her current goal at Angling Trust is the successful implementation of Catchwise Project, aiming to have positive impacts on the sea angling community as well as the natural environment and wildlife.

Zach Radford

Recreational Fisheries Scientist, Cefas

Zach is a recreational fisheries scientist with 6 years of experience working on projects relating to all facets of marine recreational fishing, but he has a particular focus on the stats around these projects. In this project, Zach will be designing the survey and will be in charge of getting the results at the end of it all.

Dr Adam Brown

Head of Research, Substance

Adam has been researching angling for over 20 years as part of wider research into the social value of sport. He has focused on recreational sea angling and has helped to demonstrate the social, community and economic value of fishing. He is the author of the National Angling Strategy for England, which integrated sea angling for the first time. He has managed the Sea Angling Diary Project for 8 years, led Substance’s research into Sea Angler Attitudes and is Project Manager of Catchwise. He is a keen angler, but perpetual beginner at sea angling which he tries to do when living part of the year next to the Northwest Scotland. He is a founder of Substance has been involved in numerous policy and research forums on sport and angling.

Hannah Rudd

Policy & Advocacy Manager, Angling Trust

Hannah Rudd is the Policy & Advocacy Manager for the Angling Trust where she works on recreational sea angling campaigns, policy and research. Before joining the Angling Trust Hannah completed her MSc Marine Environmental Management degree focusing on shark science and conservation as well as working internationally in the field. Hannah grew up sea angling around the Blackwater Estuary and is passionate about creating a sustainable future for the sport and the wider marine environment. Hannah is also part of Shark Hub UK where she works with recreational anglers and charter skippers to gather data on British sharks.

Dr Kieran Hyder

Principal Recreational Fisheries Scientist, Cefas

Kieran has been working on sea angling for over ten years and leads on marine recreational fisheries at Cefas. He is involved in a broad range of science around sea angling including surveys, stock assessment, and social and economic benefits. Kieran provides advice on sea angling for Defra and chairs the ICES Working Group on Recreational Fisheries Survey. He is a keen freshwater angler but doesn’t get out as much as he’d like any more.

Stuart Singleton-White

Head of Campaigns, Angling Trust

Stuart has been the Head of Campaigns at the Angling Trust since January 2019. He covers all aspects of the Trust’s campaigning, focusing on work across government, the Environment Agency and Natural England, and through the media. Stuart has worked in the conservation and sustainability world since joining WWF in 1991. Stuart brings experience from his work on climate change, forestry and agriculture as well as freshwater and marine. And has worked with government and government institutions at the local, national, EU and UN levels. Alongside his campaigning and advocacy, Stuart has had a parallel career in politics. He was a councillor at both the County and Borough level for 13 years and Chairman of Reading Buses for eight years. Stuart started his working life in the Royal Navy, where other than being shot at, he attributes his passion for the marine environment to having sailed from as far south as the Falklands to as far north as the Arctic.

Rebecca Mills

Researcher, Substance

Rebecca has been working at Substance on the Sea Angling Diary for the last two years. She has a degree in psychology and good knowledge of quantitative data collection, analysis and reporting, specifically in relation to longitudinal projects. While working at Substance, she has enjoyed learning from the diarists on the Sea Angling Diary Project, collecting angler stories and catch data to help better show the true value of recreational sea angling in the UK. She is the main point of call for diarists and is looking forward to being part of Catchwise.

Joe Williams

Researcher, Substance

Joe has an extensive background in volunteer recruitment, management and social evaluation. Joe studied sport, and sport psychology to a master’s level in university, focusing on social responsibility. His love of outdoors expands from playing football to visiting the coast regularly on the Northwest of England. Since starting at Substance he has expanded his work into sea angling through the Sea Angling Diary and Catchwise. He has been able to apply his knowledge to this sector and particularly enjoys talking to anglers in interviews and understanding their activity.

Brigid Bell

Research Analyst, Substance

Brigid’s background is in ecology and the environment, with a focus on coastal systems. She studied Marine Biology and Ecology as an undergraduate and completed her Masters in 2017. Alongside her studies, Brigid was involved in citizen science projects centered on biological recording and conservation and this sparked her interest in engaging communities to contribute to scientific research. She has worked on the Sea Angling Diary Project and brings key skills in quantitative data collection, analysis and reporting to Catchwise.

Who is Supporting Catchwise?

The project is funded by Defra’s Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships Scheme (FISP). The project is being supported by a large number of angling and marine organisations. It has an Advisory Group representing the recreational sea angling community, individual anglers, charter skippers, scientists, fisheries managers and agencies. It includes:

Angling Trades Association
Association of IFCAs
Angling Cymru Sea Anglers
Institute of Fisheries Management
Welsh Government
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Marine Management Organisation
Simon Thomas (University of York)
Annica de Groote (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences)
Harry Strehlow and Simon Weltersbach (The Thünen Institute, Denmark)
Charter Boat representative (TBC)

Two ICES Working Group scientists
Charter Boat Skipper (TBC)

Useful Links

Project Terms & Conditions Frequently Asked Questions