Wednesday September 23, 2026
USGS —
Three new data visualizations highlighting recreational inland fisheries harvest have been added to the USGS Earth is in Flux science visualization gallery. The interactive visuals showcase the nutritional contribution, economic value, and climate vulnerability of inland recreational fish consumption by country and taxa.
While often viewed as a leisure pastime, inland recreational fishing provides meaningful contributions to local economies, cultures, and, especially, food systems. Depending on the species, eating fish caught recreationally may also be vulnerable to changes in climate. Research from the National and Midwest CASCs highlights how this kind of freshwater fishing plays an overlooked role in feeding communities around the globe.
CASC scientists combined their expertise with the USGS Vizlab team, a group of designers, data scientists, and science communicators from the USGS Water Resources Mission Area, to release the ‘Recreational Inland Fisheries as Food’ data visualizations. This collection of visualizations is a new addition to the USGS Earth is in Flux science visualization gallery, a shared initiative to creatively communicate key findings of USGS land change science. Through three interactive data visualizations, users can explore the nutritional contribution, economic value, and climate vulnerability of inland recreational consumption by country in an accessible and engaging format.