Free rod licences are a great way to get kids fishing!

National Resources Wales' (NRW) decision to offer free rod licences to children aged from 12-16 is a bold and forward thinking move, says The Countryside Alliance Foundation, which runs the children's angling initiative Fishing 4 Schools (F4S).

F4S, which uses fishing as an aid to outdoor education, runs sessions across Wales and is pleased by National Resources Wales' (NRW) decision to extend its free rod licence scheme to 12 to 16-year-olds.

Countryside Alliance director for Wales Rachel Evans said: "I very much welcome this bold and forward thinking move from NRW. The Countryside Alliance has long recognised the benefits to health and wellbeing that fishing offers to participants so we are very grateful to NRW for making access to angling easier for our teenagers and helping to get them out into the great Welsh countryside."

And F4S director Charles Jardine: "The decision by NRW and the Environment Agency is refreshing and will help drive angling forward.

"We need to make angling easy for young people, whether this is encouraging fishing in municipal ponds and lakes or fishing clubs being more welcoming to youngsters. That's the way we will lure them away from their computer screens and out into the natural world."

Notes to journalists

• Find out more about the NRW announcement.