Exploring the Consumption of Recreational Fishing Content on Social Media

ABSTRACT Social media platforms are ubiquitous and may influence how recreational fishers engage with fishing and consume fishing‐related content. However, fishers' consumption patterns remain poorly characterized. Using a sample of recreational fishers from Catalonia (Spain), we examined how age, gender, and avidity predict preferences for different digital platforms and consumption frequency. Over half (55%) of surveyed fishers consumed fishing content online. YouTube emerged as the most widely used platform. Among younger fishers, Instagram showed similar prevalence to YouTube. Older fishers showed comparable engagement with Facebook and YouTube but used Instagram less. While significantly fewer women than men consumed fishing content, preferences for the most popular platforms were similar across genders. Avid fishers favored YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, whereas less avid fishers mainly used YouTube. Our findings offer initial insights into how recreational fishers consume social media, which may inform future research and communication strategies for recreational fisheries.