Florida may proclaim itself the “fishing capital of the world,” but wildlife officials say they need more anglers to help cover costs of running state programs.
The number of people buying hunting and fishing licenses hasn’t kept pace with population growth in the state, and wildlife officials are concerned that could impact the future management of public lands.
Brian Yablonski, chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the state needs more “folk outdoors and experiencing angling, as well as hunting, for resource purposes as well as to build that constituency for wildlife conservation.”
To get more Floridians, particularly Generation Xers and millennials, to embrace outdoor activities, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is making that a fixed part of its marketing and outreach efforts.
“Conservation has been done on the shoulders of anglers and hunters for about 100 years,” Yablonski said. “Love kayaks. I’m a kayaker. Love photographers. Love boaters. … They pay general tax revenue. We have 10 percent of our funding as general revenue. So really, boaters, hunters, anglers, these have been shouldering conservation. If other groups want to shoulder some of that too, I think we’re willing to hear that out.”
Commission members held a roundtable Monday with a number of outdoor recreation industry officials to discuss ways to boost participation, but not everyone believes Floridians want more hunting.
