EAA Finland aims to attract more girls and women to find their way to the amazing wonders of RecFishing. This by promoting the visibility and presence of them in recreational fishing trough the Mimmit Kalastaa project (freely translated as “Gals Fishing”), which began in 2021.
With this project, EAA Finland –
SVK/FFRF – aims to make girls and women more visible and heard in recreational fisheries and results are more than promising.
Recreational fishing made attractive for every gender
The Mimmit Kalastaa project – launched in 2021 – is implemented and coordinated by the Finnish Recreational Fishermen Association (SVK), which is Finland’s largest organisation of recreational fishermen and women.
Mimmit Kalastaa aims to promote angling for girls and women by lowering the threshold for them to take up this amazing outdoor activity. By developing new content to encourage girls and women to go angling (e.g. courses, events, and communications), the Mimmit Kalastaa project aims to increase attractiveness of angling among the target audience.
Another goal of the project is to make changes to the overall male dominated recreational fishing imagery by posting recreation fisherwomen on their website, Instagram page, and by encouraging Finnish media and women to do so as well.
In sum, the project is a symphony for female fishing for all ages and backgrounds. All sizes and shapes. With or without make-up. Hair in a mess, put on or just the way she wants. This as fishing is a hobby that allows and accepts each woman just the way she is.
Member of Finnish Parliament Saara-Sofia Sirén said she “encourages everyone to join [this project]. Fishing is a hobby that is suitable for everyone, regardless of gender or other background factors. Fishing combines walking in nature with responsible local food. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t always catch fish, because fishing trips are small experiences in themselves”.
Project achievements
The efforts of the project have been rewarding as more than 1000 women and girls have participated in over 100 Mimmit Kalastaa -events arranged specifically for them across Finland.
The project’s Instagram page (@mimmitkalastaa) shares content to over 2 600 followers, and the project webpage1 offers advice, event-information and other angling-related content for women. This website has already reached over 9 000 users!
Another great project achievement is the rise in percentage of women in recreational fishing. For the first time in 10 years this has started to increase significantly (18 % in 2020, 23% in 20222).
Photo: Some of the events arranged specifically for women via the project
Photo credits: Mimmit Kalastaa project
You can find more information on the Mimmit Kalastaa project here.
Link to the Project’s Instagram page for amazing pictures of recreation fisherwomen here.
Photo credits: Johanna Antila and Ilona Leskinen
1
https://mimmitkalastaa.fi/