It was not invented by us at New Brunswick Wildlife but an initiative started by the Department of Natural Resources in our province in the 1990s, I believe. It was a promotional tool. The province wanted to encourage people to fish for trout or other species. The main target in our province is speckled trout, and we wanted to take some pressure off that. There were other people fishing other species. The province was trying to get people out fishing for different species of fish. This was a mechanism where we would give an award, a hat or a pin, or some kind of recognition that you were out angling: you captured a fish, you have a picture of it, and you gave us some data on that fish. It was the science part—the length, the girth, the weight—that the program was initially about.
That has evolved into saying that we shouldn't be harvesting all fish now, so let's release them. Now the component is that we'll give you a little better prize if you release a fish alive, but let's get the data we need, the biological data, and let's release the fish for it to live and to be hooked and released again. That's how this program goes about it.
You asked if fishing is on the increase. Yes, people are trying to get to the outdoors. Every group that I know of is trying to get kids off computers and outdoors. Fishing is a family activity. Ladies are now participating. We have companies in Moncton investing in this today. Tomorrow we have a big retail store opening up in our area geared to families and to fishing equipment and hunting equipment.
Fishing is not a dinosaur. It's not decreasing. It is a wonderful activity that we cherish here in New Brunswick. In my group it's more salmon fishing and trout, but on the marine side we have all kinds of other fishing that families do.
So yes, I believe it is on the rise. We have this little program trying to encourage people to participate some more.
That's all I can give on that aspect.