On the heels of this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation continues to minimize the “nature gap” by bringing multicultural and diverse families into fishing and boating through its George H.W. Bush Vamos a Pescar Education Fund.

The nature gap refers to a systemic lack of diversity in outdoor spaces and activities, resulting in decreased opportunities for diverse communities to reap the benefits of spending time in the great outdoors. This gap affects fishing and boating. As an industry, we share the responsibility to foster further participation within diverse and multicultural communities. Hispanics remain a critical constituency.

To help close this gap, the RBFF’s George H.W. Bush Vamos a Pescar Education Fund is directly addressing the barriers to fishing, boating and conservation education. The fund launched in 2014 with the support of Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris. He donated $125,000 in honor of his friend, President George H.W. Bush, to bring fishing, boating and conservation to multicultural families in key metro areas of Texas and Florida.

Since then, the fund has expanded, with more than $1 million granted to local organizations across the United States. More than $109,500 in grants were awarded in 2023, with state fish and wildlife agencies fully matching the amount, bringing the total funding to approximately $221,000 to support 16 programs in eight states this year.

Hispanic participation in fishing increased 45% in the past decade, reaching the mark of 5.1 million participants in 2022 (an all-time record), but Hispanics still make up only 13% of the national participation rate in fishing, and only 18% were first-timers, showing the importance of continued work in welcoming and retaining this community. Hispanics participating in freshwater fishing grew 16% in 2022 versus the year before, and the number of Hispanics fly-fishing more than doubled in a decade, to nearly 1 million in 2022.

Hispanics made up more than half of the total growth of the U.S. population from 2010 to 2022, according to the Pew Research Center. The good news is, they want to go fishing. According to the 2023 Special Report on Fishing, conducted by the Outdoor Foundation and RBFF, Hispanic anglers are more likely than typical participants to fish once per week. Some 59% consider themselves occasional participants, and nearly half wish they could fish more.

RBFF’s outreach to underrepresented audiences is multifaceted. Last year, we provided free, fun and effective resources to state, industry and federal stakeholders to help get more Hispanic women and families into fishing and boating. Also, in partnership with the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies R3 Committee, the RBFF is developing a collection of photos that represent diverse people, places, and fishing and boating opportunities in the Midwest.

This past summer, the Vista Outdoor Foundation (the philanthropic partner of Vista Outdoor Inc.) and Simms Fishing Products (Vista’s Bozeman, Mont.,-based fishing brand) announced a donation of $17,000 to the RBFF. The donation, which benefited the George H.W. Bush Vamos a Pescar Education Fund, was doubled thanks to a match from state fish and wildlife agencies. More recently, Brunswick Associates announced a donation to support fund grantees in 2024.

The results of investments in this fund are clear nationwide. In Virginia, families were introduced to fishing through student field events for kayaking and spin fishing, and a public works education partnership about trout fishing. In Rhode Island, hundreds of Hispanic-American kids and families participated in Steppingstones of Engagement, which introduces Spanish-speaking families to fishing across freshwater, saltwater and on charter trips. The Cops and Bobbers event at Roger Williams Park in Providence, R.I., had stations for backyard bass casting, pond wildlife, junior angling and fish art. An event called Riverside Fishing at Sycamore Landing in Manville, R.I., hosted family-friendly fishing stations along the Blackstone River.

In Orange County, Calif., hundreds of Hispanic-American kids and families have been introduced to fishing through events such as Family Pier Days to learn about fish species and ecosystems, and through workshops for second- and third-graders about conservation and fishing techniques they can bring to their families. Solidarity’s after-school program in Garnet, Calif., taught students how to cast, select tackle and identify fish species, while a chartered ocean-fishing trip for Hispanic teens aboard the Triton provided skills and taught safe-boating practices.

In Denver, Hispanic-American kids and families participated in Dia de Pesca (fishing day) at Garfield Park, where nearly every attendee was a native Spanish speaker. Spanish-language speakers were on-site to help with instruction, answer questions and ensure the experience would create long-lasting connections to nature and the health benefits of being outside.

These are just a few of the many activities developed with the RBFF’s partners to reach Hispanic audiences and close the nature gap for more kids and families every year. We are grateful for this help. With Hispanic participation growing, we are seeing momentum toward a renewed resurgence of access to and appreciation of the nation’s aquatic natural resource.

The RBFF invites the industry to join our commitment to growing Hispanic participation in fishing and boating, and to celebrate every time the nature gap is closed, even an inch, across the country. 

Dave Chanda is president and CEO of the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation.

This article was originally published in the November 2023 issue.