For Immediate ReleaseMary Jane Williamson, Communications Directormjwilliamson@asafishing.org, 703-519-9691, x227
Where Do You Find the Most Active Anglers? Not Where You Might Expect The Midwest and Northeast have the most avid anglers Alexandria, VA – October 6, 2015 – A new report about recreational fishing in the U.S. found that anglers in the Midwest and Northeast had the lowest drop-out rate compared to anglers in other parts of the country. The report examined fishing license purchases in the Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and West. This, and other findings related to fishing participation are explained in “A Snapshot of the U.S. Angler Population by Region,” the second in a series of studies produced for the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) by Southwick Associates that sheds new light on anglers’ fishing habits and loyalty to the sport. The study reveals that close to half of all fishing license buyers in any given year do not renew their licenses the following year. However, the overall number of participants remains quite stable from year to year, at around 46 million, because about the same number of people both drop-in and drop-out of the sport from year to year. “The new report underscores some of the challenges we already know about, but it also gives us more specific information to help pinpoint factors that keep people fishing, and that’s what we need going forward,” said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman. “What keeps anglers fishing in the Midwest and not in the Southeast is information we can use to improve our marketing efforts to anglers who tend to lapse more.” This is important information for state fisheries agencies and the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, organizations taking the lead for the broader sportfishing community on growing participation. Their strategy, called “R3,” includes targeted marketing to recruit, retain and reactivate anglers. The overall goal is to reduce the amount of “churn,” a term that refers to anglers’ transitioning in and out of the sport from year to year. What’s new? The analysis includes a closer look at sportfishing participation, churn rates among various demographic groups, and fishing license purchasing habits among recruited, retained and reactivated anglers. While there were some significant differences among regions, in each region the analysis was consistent with what was found nationally: women, young people, and those who live in urban communities are more likely to lapse in their fishing from year to year. Report highlights
Southwick Associates compiled and studied fishing license data over a 10-year period, from 2004-2013, and a five-year period, from 2009-2013, from 12 states (CO, FL, GA, ME, MI, MN, MS, MT, NH, NY, UT, and WI) to provide a regionally and nationally representative portrait of anglers for this and future reports in the series. Three states were selected from within each of the four geographic areas of the country—the Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, and West—to provide regional representation. |