Numbers of anglers for the seas, inland waters, and inland fish species of Japan

The number of anglers in Japan in 2015 was estimated using data from the White Paper on Leisure and an original web research. Survey subjects consisted of 1,000 people aged 15 to 79 years. The numbers (x 1,000) and ratios of anglers were 4,875 (48.7%) for seas, 3,360 (33.6%) for inland waters (rivers, lakes, ponds, and artificial channels), and 1,777 (17.7%) for fishing ponds. For natural water areas excluding fishing ponds, the numbers (x 1,000) and ratios of anglers were 4,875 (59.2%) for seas and 3,360 (40.8%) for inland waters. The numbers (x 1,000) of anglers targeting each of the top 10 inland species were 1,188 for Oncorhynchus masou, 887 for Salvelinus leucomaenis, 824 for O. mykiss, 776 for Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis, 767 for Carassius spp., 666 for Micropterus spp., 561 for Cyprinus carpio, 355 for Tribolodon hakonensis, 288 for Hypomesus nipponensis, and 278 for opsariichthys platypus. The number of anglers targeting P. altivelis altivelis was comparable to that of those targeting Carassius spp. In Japan, anglers in inland waters are plentiful and inland water angling is an important leisure activity.