Urban and Community Fisheries Programs: Development, Management, and Evaluation

What’s in a Name? Urban Versus Community Fisheries Programs

Larry D. Pape and Richard T. Eades

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874042.ch11

Abstract.—Urban Fishing was the title of a pilot program initiated by the U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Service in 1969, which is considered to be the beginning of urban fishing programs. Truly urban in scope, it set out to help resolve civil unrest in the inner cities of large metropolitan areas during the late 1960s. In 1983, an Urban Fishing Symposium was held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and produced a proceedings under the same title. Subsequently, the term “urban fishing” has become a paradigm for educational, city-based fishing programs nationwide. The term “urban,” by definition, describes populations by numbers, 50,000 minimally. While applicable during this earlier time, the term “urban” is no longer appropriate given contemporary needs and views of nature. It is important that we recognize that we have been, and are still, undergoing this change in times. These changes will require programs to be sensitive to youth and young adults if we are to entice them to be future anglers. Programs such as Missouri’s and Nebraska’s Urban Fisheries and Utah’s Community Fishing Programs demonstrate the diversity of needs that are not particularly “urban,” and would be better defined under a “community” term and paradigm. Community is defined as a social group of organisms, sharing an environment with shared interests and needs. Respectfully, we suggest that “community” be adopted as the term for these types of fishing program activities, as it is appropriate and contemporary to the challenges facing fisheries managers.