Recreational Inland Fisheries as Food

Inland recreational fishing is often conceived as primarily a leisure-driven activity in freshwaters, yet it can contribute substantially to food systems. We estimate harvest from inland recreational fishing equates to 11.3% of all reported inland fisheries catch, globally. We identify nutrition, economic value, and climate vulnerability of inland recreational consumption by country. Austria, Canada, Germany, and Slovakia are above the third quantile for all three metrics. These results may have profound implications for sensitive groups dependent on inland recreational fishing for food, particularly when not managed as food fisheries. Our findings can inform climate adaptation planning for inland recreational fisheries and highlight the underappreciated role they play for human nutrition in some countries.