High-resolution app data reveal sustained increases in recreational fishing effort in Europe during and after COVID-19 lockdowns.

It is well recognized that COVID-19 lockdowns impacted human interactions with natural ecosystems. One example is recreational fishing, which, in developed countries, involves approximately 10% of people. Fishing licence sales and observations at angling locations suggest that recreational fishing effort increased substantially during lockdowns. However, the extent and duration of this increase remain largely unknown. We used four years (2018-2021) of high-resolution data from a personal fish-finder device to explore the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on angling effort in four European countries. We show that relative device use and angling effort increased 1.2-3.8-fold during March-May 2020 and generally remained elevated even at the end of 2021. Fishing during the first lockdown also became more frequent on weekdays. Statistical models explained 50-70% of the variation, suggesting that device use and angling effort were relatively consistent and predictable through space and time. Our study demonstrates that recreational fishing behaviour can change substantially and rapidly in response to societal shifts, with profound ecological, human well-being and economic implications. We also show the potential of angler devices and smartphone applications for high-resolution fishing effort analysis and encourage more extensive science and industry collaborations to take advantage of this information.

Global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by recreational anglers: considerations for developing more resilient and sustainable fisheries.

The global COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many jurisdictions implementing orders restricting the movements of people to inhibit virus transmission, with recreational angling often either not permitted or access to fisheries and/or related infrastructure being prevented. Following the lifting of restrictions, initial angler surveys and licence sales suggested increased participation and effort, and altered angler demographics, but with evidence remaining limited. Here, we overcome this evidence gap by identifying temporal changes in angling interest, licence sales, and angling effort in world regions by comparing data in the 'pre-pandemic' (up to and including 2019); 'acute pandemic' (2020) and 'COVID-acclimated' (2021) periods. We then identified how changes can inform the development of more resilient and sustainable recreational fisheries. Interest in angling (measured here as angling-related internet search term volumes) increased substantially in all regions during 2020. Patterns in licence sales revealed marked increases in some countries during 2020 but not in others. Where licence sales increased, this was rarely sustained in 2021; where there were declines, these related to fewer tourist anglers due to movement restrictions. Data from most countries indicated a younger demographic of people who participated in angling in 2020, including in urban areas, but this was not sustained in 2021. These short-lived changes in recreational angling indicate efforts to retain younger anglers could increase overall participation levels, where efforts can target education in appropriate angling practices and create more urban angling opportunities. These efforts would then provide recreational fisheries with greater resilience to cope with future global crises, including facilitating the ability of people to access angling opportunities during periods of high societal stress. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11160-023-09784-5.

Domestic water supply in rural Greenland - sufficiency, affordability and accessibility.

Global efforts are still under way to ensure sustainable development goal 6 of providing enough clean water to sustain public health in many regions, and especially in the Arctic where the remoteness of communities and the harsh climate make water provision especially challenging. This study aimed to examine the sufficiency, accessibility, and affordability of water supplies in rural Greenland. The state of the water supply was investigated using quantitative data on infrastructure and demographics. Qualitative data on water-related practices and perceptions were collected through fieldwork and interviews in a selection of settlements. Generally, the supply of drinking water was found to be sufficient and affordable for most. However, access was severely constrained by the lack of piping to rural homes (20% were piped). The daily water consumption of residents from un-piped households was between 13 and 23 L/d/cap, i.e. within the basic access level according to WHO, which is in theory not sufficient to sustain public health. Several health risks could be caused by the low daily consumption in un-piped homes, and water saving practices induced by it - i.e. the use of shared handwashing basins, and household water storage, which could lead to degradation of water quality at the point-of-use.

Changes in angler demography and angling patterns during the Covid-19 lockdown in spring 2020 measured through a citizen science platform.

From 11 March to end of May 2020 a lockdown was imposed in Denmark due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Concurrently a 20% increase in sales of mandatory national angling licenses was reported in Denmark, suggesting an increase in angling participation. Here, we use data collected from a citizen science platform for recreational anglers to a) explore whether the increase in participation affected multiple characteristics of the anglers that registered to the citizen science platform in spring 2020, and b) explore changes in angling effort and catch patterns during the lockdown as reported to the platform. The results indicate that the platform was able to detect changes in the characteristics of the participants in the Danish recreational angling during the Covid-19 lockdown, i.e. participants were younger, more likely to live in urban areas, less experienced, stated angling as a less important hobby, and less likely to be from outside of Denmark. The spring 2020 participants did not conduct more fishing trips compared to previous years, but their effort patterns differed. The effort patterns revealed a shift in fishing activity from weekend to weekday and, during the day, a shift in fishing activity from midday to early evening. These changes most likely reflect the extraordinary conditions that most Danes experienced during the lockdown. We found relatively lower catch rates and a trend towards retaining more fish, among the participants that registered in spring 2020. The results are discussed in relation to biological implications and lessons learned about data collection from citizen science platforms.