SALT LAKE CITY — For some, fishing may just be considered a recreational activity. But for Jennifer Boshard, fishing is her life.
“It's something I grew up with, and we did every other weekend, you know, that was our getaway,” she said.
There is a lack of female anglers in Utah, reflecting a larger representation issue nationwide.
Faith Heaton Jolley, Spokesperson for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said there is one reason that outshines all the others.
“There is kind of that lack of representation, right? They feel underrepresented, and they just don't see themselves, maybe in the sport,” she said.
Boshard said she was excited to compete in a women’s fishing tournament in Utah back in May, but because there weren’t enough female anglers, that tournament was canceled.
“It was devastating. It was heartbreaking,” Boshard said.
For Boshard, fishing is a way to help her mental health.
“If you're going and you catch a fish, it reminds us that we can achieve our goals, just having that in mind and knowing that it relieves our stress, it helps with our patience,” she said.
Boshard said she wishes female fishing could be promoted more, however, Jolley said they’ve been doing more campaigns geared towards women, and it’s starting to pay off.
“Last year, we actually did see a 2% increase in female fishing license sales compared to the same time frame the previous year, but then we saw an 8% increase for new female anglers last year during the time frame of our campaign,” Jolley said.
According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, the following numbers were the amount of female fishing license sales over the past three years:
- 2022: 111,438
- 2023: 112,031
- 2024: 113,897
Jolley said they plan to host more events and campaigns, as well as highlight female anglers in the community.
“If you can't see yourself or people that look like you doing the activity you want to engage in, you're less inclined to engage right? You want to be able to see yourself, and that's why representation is so important,” she said.
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