NATIONAL FIVE-YEAR ANGLING SURVEY UNDERWAY

The national 2005 Survey of Recreational Fishing in Canada is now underway.

The survey is being co-ordinated by the Statistical Services of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and is being conducted in every province and territory. It is the seventh in a series of surveys carried out at five-year intervals since 1975. The results are used to identify trends in and develop a better understanding of Canada's sport fishery.

"This survey lets us hear directly from the people who fish in Saskatchewan," Environment Minister John Nilson said. "We are committed to maintaining a long-term, sustainable fishery in Saskatchewan and the results we get from the survey will provide us with valuable information that we can use to help us plan for the future."

The survey is being mailed to a sample of 6,000 people who bought 2005 Saskatchewan angling licences. Slightly more than half of those surveys will go to Saskatchewan residents, with the rest going to people from across Canada and out of country. The survey asks anglers about their fishing experience, their opinions, where they fished, how much they fished and how many fish they caught and kept or caught and released.

"The information we get through this survey is important, so I am asking everyone who receives one to take the time to fill it out and return it, even if they only fished a couple of days last year," Nilson said.

The last survey, held in 2000-01, showed that 233,000 licensed anglers in Saskatchewan caught 11.4 million fish, keeping only 3.4 million of the fish they caught. These anglers invested $181 million, directly related to sport fishing, in Saskatchewan.

-30-

For More Information, Contact:

Art Jones Environment Regina Phone: (306) 787-5796 Cell: (306) 536-8452