- Division of Marine Fisheries
Last summer, DMF’s Saltwater Angler Education Program was awarded $7,800 from the Inclusive and Accessible Outdoor Recreation Grant Program from the Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation (MOOR). The extra funding went a long way to support our mission to teach basic angling skills and make saltwater fishing more accessible for kids, families, and other new anglers in Massachusetts. We partnered with the City of New Bedford to host a free family fishing clinic at the Fort Taber Fishing Pier, where participants learned to fish from the pier and were sent home with new rods, starter tackle kits, and educational materials to keep fishing. Overall, we were able to distribute over 120 rods and starter tackle kits at Fort Taber and numerous other free saltwater angler education clinics. Funding from the grant also gave us an opportunity to translate our most popular educational materials into Spanish to help make our events and outreach more accessible to all anglers.
In addition to our own MOOR-funded project, our program also provided support to three other MOOR-funded events: the Fairhaven Fishing Derby, Cops & Bobbers with the Fall River Police Department, and the Friends of Winthrop Accessible Adventures Day on Deer Island. Those were just a few of the highlights in a very busy year! DMF either hosted, participated in, or supported 17 different free saltwater angler education fishing clinics throughout the summer. At every DMF-run clinic, participants learned the basics of saltwater fishing, such as knot tying, casting, fish identification, proper handling, and catch and release fishing. This introduction to angling, along with our educational materials, sets up new anglers with the skills and confidence to continue fishing on their own.
Angler education clinics are a big part of our program, but we recognize that there are other ways to expand our reach. We loaned gear and provided training to three organizations throughout the summer through our rod & reel loan program. Our goal is to teach organizations how to use saltwater fishing gear and then support them in their efforts to teach and host their own saltwater fishing clinics. In doing so, we can extend the reach of our Angler Education Program and impact more communities. This past year, summer program staff from the Boys and Girls club of New Bedford went through the basic training and took kids to the Fort Taber pier to go fishing or practiced knot tying and casting at the organization’s facility. We also loaned gear to the Buzzards Bay Coalition so they could offer their own Beginners Surfcasting Clinics at various locations on the South Shore. The third organization was Outside Mind, a black-led nonprofit organization committed to providing equitable outdoor recreation access and opportunity to underserved communities on the North Shore.
In 2025, the DMF Saltwater Angler Education Program plans to continue building and strengthening partnerships to grow the rod & reel loan program. After the success of the 2024 gear giveaways, DMF is eager to identify funding to purchase more gear and tackle to distribute at 2025 summer fishing clinics. We’re looking forward to another amazing season getting into coastal communities and sharing the joy of saltwater fishing!
By Kim Fine, Recreational Fishing Clinics Coordinator
