WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — Hunting and fishing are on a steady decline in Connecticut, and the state is attempting to reverse the trend.
The question is whether the efforts, which include more programs for children and stocking city ponds with catfish, will counteract a dwindling interest and experience in the outdoors.
"Younger people aren't gravitating toward outdoor activities the way they used to,'' said Dennis Schain, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. "Lifestyles have changed, and electronics are drawing young people away.''
Fewer hunting and fishing licenses issued by the DEP means less money to stock fish and conduct other programs.
It also carries a broader concern, said Schain. Fresh and saltwater fishermen pump $300 million annually into Connecticut's economy, and hunters spend another $68 million, according to a 2006 study by the U.S. Department of Interior.
Additionally, "as these numbers decline, there is less of a constituency for environmental stewardship,'' Schain said.
The number of licenses has been dropping as far back as 1990, when 227,510 inland fishing licenses were issued, and then grew more precipitous after hunting and fishing license fees were increased in 2009. Those increases prompted a public outcry and rollback on the cost.
In 2010, Connecticut residents bought 123,405 fishing licenses worth about $4.5 million. About 41,000 various hunting licenses were issued, less than half of the 91,000 sold in 1990.
Hunting license sales recently brought in $2.5 million.
A combination license for both costs $38 without "tags'' for bow, rifle or muzzleloader deer and turkey hunting seasons. A fishing license is $28.
Several programs have been launched to lure more people outside.
This year, the state will step up efforts to invite more outdoor activities through its six-year-old No Child Left Inside programs, including Connecticut Acquatic Resources Education, which relies on volunteer involvement in school and community activities to put fishing poles in children's hands and get them involved in activities like fish stocking.
"We want young peoples' attention by putting a fishing pole in their hands and connecting with nature,'' said Peter Aarrestad, the director of the DEP's Inland Fisheries Division said.
In Hamden, for example, fifth-graders were enlisted to help the DEP stock trout.
"They just loved getting fish slime on their hands,'' Aarrestad said. "It makes it more likely that they will go back and fish.''
Since 2007, the state has stocked catfish in ponds within city limits, hoping to get more urban residents fishing. Statewide this year, 15,000 catfish were stocked, including at Great Brook Reservoir at Lakewood Park in Waterbury.
"We are trying to make fishing available to everyone,'' Aarrestad said. "Catfish, which we have stocked since 2007, are easy and fun to catch, and good to eat.''
Aarrestad said he'd also like to see the state create a new fee structure that rolls back the $28 license fee for young people between the ages of 16, when they are first required to buy a license, and 21.
Increases in fees in 1992, 2003 and 2009 resulted in far fewer licenses sold the following years. In 2009, 149,000 fishing licenses were sold. The following year, 123,405 were sold.
"We blew it when the state doubled the hunting and fishing license fees,'' said James Fedorich of Torrington, president of the Northwestern Connecticut chapter of Trout Unlimited and a lifelong fisherman. "It was a mistake to increase the fees on a revenue source that was already declining.''
Broader sociological changes are also involved in what is a national trend, Aarrestad and Fedorich agreed. Parents are reluctant to allow their children to be unsupervised outdoors, and fewer parents spend time outside.
That's sad for Fedorich, 69, who recalls growing up fishing the upper reaches of the Naugatuck River, and shooting for practice before hunting season at local ranges.
"Everybody had a fishing pole, and after school we rode our bikes with them, or your dad took you fishing on Saturdays,'' Fedorich said. "Every town had a fishing derby.''
License money: Where it goes
Revenue from hunting and fishing licenses goes into the state's General Fund. Under federal and state law, an allocation is returned to the state Department of Environmental Protection to fund fishing programs and staffing that is at least equal to the amount generated by license sales.
Of the DEP's $145 million budget, it costs nearly $14.8 million to fund fisheries and wildlife programs. About $12 million comes from anglers and hunters, licenses and a federal excise tax on fishing and hunting equipment which comes back to the state.
About $7 million is license revenue, said Bill Hyatt, bureau chief for the DEP's Bureau of Natural Resources.
Not funded by the fees are periodic capital improvement needs related to stocking, such as the replacement of outdated oxygenation equipment on stocking trucks and improvements to two of the state's three hatcheries in Burlington and Kensington.
"Those projects come out of the Bond Commission,'' said Dennis Schain, DEP spokesman. "We are well aware that these are difficult financial times. The staff here is committed to making the best possible fishing opportunities available to the anglers of this state with the resources available to us.''
By Chris Avena 
By Shelby Byrd By Chris Avena 
By Scott Stover 