German Anglers’ Views on Global Warming – Implications for Climate Change Monitoring and Management

Pro-environmental attitudes are predictors of pro-environmental behaviour (Miller et al., 2022), although contextual factors, including societal, political, socio-cultural, and cognitive or physical constraints, can influence the translation of these attitudes into corresponding behaviour (Steg and Vleg, 2009; Wyss et al., 2022). The NEP scores indicated that most participating anglers were aware of the sensitivity of nature, regardless of differences in socio-demographic characteristics or motives for angling. Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of anglers acknowledged the existence of global warming, and most participants suspected a link between global warming and the frequency of extreme weather events. This finding may also have been influenced by the summer storms and extreme weather events that struck western Europe during the study period in 2021, as experience of environmental changes can reinforce beliefs in climate warming (Reser and Bradley, 2020; Damsbo-Svendsen, 2021). When asked about specific effects of global warming on aquatic ecosystems, most participants attributed increased macrophyte growth and phytoplankton blooms to climate warming and assumed that such events would become more frequent in the future. These assessments are consistent with scientific studies confirming the impact of global warming on phytoplankton development (Winder and Sommer, 2012; Paerl and Paul, 2012) and macrophyte growth (Silveira and Thiébaut, 2017).

In contrast, only a minority of participants recognised impacts of global warming on water levels or expected such impacts to occur in the future, which suggests a lack of experience or knowledge about the relationships between weather events and runoff dynamics. However, the ways in which people experience climate-warming-related events and their general risk perceptions interact in complex ways. These perceptions are influenced by various factors, including prior beliefs, personal experiences, political orientations, and social norms (Echavarren et al., 2019; Brügger et al., 2021; Howe, 2021).

Surprisingly, most participants had not observed any effects of global warming on the abundance, growth or reproduction of their target fish species, nor did they expect to see any such effects in the future, despite various studies attributing profound changes in fish communities, including shifts in body size, age structure and species composition, to global warming in Germany and across Europe (Simpson et al., 2011; Jeppesen et al., 2012; Le Hen et al., 2023). In contrast to the anglers in this study (Supplementary Table S4), around 60% of Australian marine anglers recognised changes in the species composition and distributional ranges of the fish they caught (Ryan et al., 2022).

The participating anglers documented an average of 11 fishing trips (±14 S.D.) in their diaries. Furthermore, 57% of participants had started fishing before the age of 14, suggesting that many of them were experienced anglers. Nonetheless, gradual or subtle ecological shifts might be difficult to detect and track based on personal experience (Moser, 2010), particularly in the presence of large temporal and/or geographic distances between causes and effects (Weber, 2010). Moreover, anglers may overlook climate-related environmental information (McDonald et al., 2015) or attribute their observations to other causes, partly because the dynamics of complex ecosystems are characterised by multiple feedback loops, time delays, and non-linearities (Hewitt et al., 2015; Jaiswal et al., 2021). Although climate warming has global impacts, observed and predicted impacts can vary widely from region to region, as the direction and magnitude of these impacts depend on whether warming moves local temperatures into, beyond, or away from the optimal ranges (Eltahir and Choi, 2025). Additionally, because anglers target only a limited number of species, often large predators (Flink et al., 2024), they may not immediately notice changes in the broader fish community. Anglers who target fish species such as carp, which may even benefit from climate warming (Souza et al., 2022), may consider warming effects as less relevant or may not have observed any negative changes. Furthermore, the subjective attribution of observed changes in aquatic ecosystems to global warming is significantly predicted by pre-existing beliefs about climate change, political attitudes, and perceived normative cues (Whitman et al., 2018; Ogunbode et al., 2019). As noted above, the vast majority of the participants of this study were aware of climate warming. However, Spence et al. (2012) conducted a representative study on public perceptions of climate change in the UK and showed that, although the majority were aware of climate change, many participants were unsure of its impacts and considered it possible that these impacts had been exaggerated. The most probable causes for these perceptions were psychological distance, media reporting and uncertainties in scientific analyses. Finally, although it is a controversial topic (van Valkengoed et al., 2023), people in industrialised countries may psychologically distance themselves from the impacts of climate warming, which prevents them from being fully aware of climate change-related issues (McDonald et al., 2015). This detachment may arise from the perception that climate change affects distant places and future generations more severely, leading to the judgement that personal risks are lower than societal risks (Spence et al., 2012). The fact that relatively few respondents anticipated an impact of global warming on fish assemblages, either now or in the future, may explain why most anglers believed they could adapt their hobby to climate-related changes. Only a minority thought they would have to stop angling altogether (Supplementary Table S3).

The gender distribution and age of the participating anglers were similar to those documented in other surveys of anglers (Thunberg and Fulcher, 2006; Gundelund et al. 2020). The level of education was commensurate with the German population average, with more than 80% of 25- to 64-year-olds holding at least an upper secondary school qualification (OECD, 2014).

Gender, education and age are known to influence environmental awareness and risk perception (Meyer, 2015; Poortinga et al., 2019). However, unlike a cross-European representative study which found positive associations between educational attainment and concern about climate warming and negative associations between age and concern (Poortinga et al., 2019), this study found no substantial effect of age or education level on anglers’ views on climate warming. The impact of age on climate concern, however, has been assessed with mixed results in previous research. A recent online survey conducted in Israel indicated that older people are significantly more concerned about climate change and more likely to acknowledge the existence of climate warming than younger people (Ayalon, 2024). An earlier meta-analysis indicated that the influence of age on environmental concern was generally positive but negligible, which was attributed to stronger influence of social norms and traditional values (Wiernik et al., 2013). Other researchers also pointed out that environmental values and political orientation were better predictors for environmental concern than age, whether defined as individual age or generational cohort (Goto Gray et al., 2019). This study also found no clear evidence that gender influences observed or assumed impacts of climate warming. Although there are indications that, for example, differences in socialisation and gender-class effects may foster a deeper concern for the environment among women (Eisler et al., 2003; Goldsmith et al., 2013; Poortinga et al., 2019; Echavarren, 2023), study results regarding the influence of gender on environmental perceptions are inconclusive (Henshall Momsen, 2000), most likely because the influence of gender is shaped by broader societal, political, socio-cultural, and economic factors (Pearson et al., 2017; Economou and Halkos, 2020; Ergun et al., 2024).

The results of this study confirm other studies indicating that people engage in angling for multiple reasons including angling-related (nature experience, escape from everyday life) and angling-specific motives (catching fish), with some anglers valuing nature experience higher than angling-specific motives (Fedler and Ditton, 1994; Gundelund et al., 2022). Contrary to our expectations, however, angling motives as well as angling club membership rarely influenced the views on global warming. Other studies have indicated positive correlations between nature experience as a motivation to fish, membership of angling clubs, and a stronger sense of responsibility towards conservation issues (Copeland et al., 2017; van den Heuvel et al., 2020). Identification with an activity can encourage pro-environmental behaviour and the internalisation of moral and normative beliefs about acting as stewards of aquatic resources (Landon et al., 2018). The specialisation of anglers, as measured by skill, avidity and anglers’ centrality (Koemle et al., 2024), fell within the ranges observed in other studies of German anglers (Arlinghaus and Mehner, 2004; Lewin et al., 2021). Specialisation rarely influenced the ratings of the statements regarding climate warming. As hypothesised, anglers with higher NEP scores were more likely to attribute observed or anticipated changes to global warming, consistent with research showing that individuals with pro-environmental attitudes tend to show greater interest in environmental issues and express more concern about global warming (Poortinga et al., 2004; Steel et al., 2005; Halkos and Matsiori, 2017). However, the low explanatory power of the regression models suggests that anglers’ recognition of global warming is influenced by additional factors not considered in this study. The relationship between environmental attitudes, ecological knowledge and perception of environmental risks is shaped by, for example, cultural worldview dimensions, and higher scores on egalitarianism and lower scores on hierarchism and individualism are associated with higher levels of perceived environmental risk (Stevenson et al., 2014; Johansson et al., 2022). Including these predictors along with variables such as place attachment, cultural beliefs, urban or rural residency, norms and values, political attitude, and social class may lead to more comprehensive insights (Weber, 2016; Ballew et al., 2020; Brick and Lai, 2018).

Some shortcomings are important to consider when interpreting the results of this study. The anglers who participated in this study were recruited from the general population in Germany through a representative telephone survey. However, anglers who choose to participate in scientific studies may differ from those who refuse to participate (Connelly and Brown 1995). Despite the small socio-demographic differences between the ‘general’ angler population, as identified by the initial telephone screening, and the participants of this study, there may be differences in pro-environmental attitudes between the two groups. In addition, self-reported measures in surveys on environmental attitudes may be subject to social desirability bias (Milfont, 2009). Even though empirical evidence suggests that the impact of social desirability on environmental research is relatively small, this possible bias should be considered (Milfont, 2009). Moreover, the NEP scale can be used to uncover factors underlying the participants’ environmental attitudes (Dunlap et al., 2000; Amburgey and Thoman, 2012; Halkos and Matsiori, 2017). Furthermore, since anglers were asked to what extent climate warming has already affected fish stocks, it cannot be ruled out that some participants observed changes in fish stocks but did not attribute them to climate warming. Finally, generalizing the results to anglers in other countries may be challenging because the relationship between climate change perceptions and predictor variables can vary across nations (Poortinga et al., 2019).

Specialised anglers often voluntarily act as stewards of their resources (Granek et al., 2008; Oh and Ditton, 2008) and engage in environmental monitoring programmes that can complement scientific monitoring (Williams et al., 2016; Tsuboi et al., 2024). Moreover, anglers’ local ecological knowledge can serve as an early warning system for detecting rapid or unforeseen changes in highly dynamic ecosystems, enabling early action (Lewin et al., 2025). The millions of anglers worldwide thus represent an enormous, largely untapped potential for monitoring the impacts of climate warming. The results of this study indicated that, although anglers should not be regarded as a homogenous group, most socio-demographic distinctions can be ignored when recruiting participants for citizen science projects aimed at detecting signs of climate warming. However, as with other projects of this kind, specific training programmes should be developed to improve relevant ecological skills and ensure standardised monitoring methods. One example is the ‘Flow Project’ (https://​www.​flow-projekt.​de/​index.​php/​de/​), a Germany-wide citizen science project which uses video tutorials, identification booklets, and online quizzes to train citizens to assess the ecological status of small streams by collecting data on macroinvertebrates and stream hydro-morphology (Von Gönner et al., 2023, 2024). The training of anglers could focus on indicators of climate warming with regard to the fish communities. Anglers are particularly well suited to monitor the fish fauna as this activity requires specialised equipment and a fishing licence. Relevant indicators might include the decline or loss of cold- and cool-water species such as salmonids, increased populations or self-reproducing eurytherm carp, the occurrence of non-native fish species, and changes in length or age structure of target fish species. Citizen science data can contribute meaningfully to studies on the effects of climate change when compared with data from other sources (see McDonald et al. 2025 as example). Furthermore, participation in citizen science projects can encourage individual and collective pro-environment behavior, motivating participants to engage in place-based measures that support local ecosystem functioning and reduce the effects of climate change—for example, through habitat restoration, the protection or creation of diverse habitat types, or changes in angling practices to help protect targeted species (Palmer et al., 2009; Jeanson et al., 2021). Angling clubs can serve as valuable partners in this process (Brownscombe et al., 2019). However, further research is needed to develop methods that ensure quality assurance, validation and standardisation of data collection and documentation by the citizen scientists according to scientific standards (Delaney et al., 2008; Aceves-Bueno et al., 2015).