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Viking is proudly supporting the expansion of the IGFA youth fishing program, “Reel Into Fishing,” in New Jersey’s Burlington County. The International Game Fish Association partners with Rutgers University and 4-H to expose youth to fishing and marine conservation, “building the next generation of ethical anglers and fisheries scientists.” Already extremely successful in neighboring Ocean County, the three-day camp included a recent field trip to the Viking manufacturing plant for a group of students in grades 5 through 10.
“We wanted to bring the program to Burlington County, so we partnered with Viking and the Healey Foundation to provide this camp for youths to learn about fishing and boatbuilding and the different careers it provides,” said Brianna Boyd from Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County. “It was very eye-opening for the kids – they got to see men and women working in different fields and really appreciated the tour and being able to walk through the boats.”
“We saw how the boats get built from the start to the end,” said 10-year-old Bradley. “It was awesome.”
Studies indicate that most anglers were introduced to fishing by the age of 12. “The tour allowed us to take it a step further and show the kids the connection between boatbuilding, and the diverse career opportunities we have here at Viking, and fishing and fisheries management,” said Viking Executive Vice President Drew Davala. “For Viking, this partnership makes perfect sense since we’ve had a long history of supporting youth development.”
