Who are the new anglers?
We may be biased, but we surely believe that what is good for the fishing industry is good for Rhode Island. The challenge for us as an industry has often been us against ourselves: commercial vs recreational, here vs there. Another challenge is where to get the money to grow the industry, and good data to target the spending.
I’m not brave enough to leap into the commercial vs recreational debate, but was really pleased to come across some great information on how to find anglers if that’s who we are targeting. The American Sportfishing Association recently spent a lot of money with well-known consulting firm Siouthwick Associates to produce a series of six reports on “The New Anglers.” Crammed with data and insight, the report looks at fishing license applications, renewals and lapses nationwide, to help us understand where to find the best sources of new anglers, and how to (sic) lure them to Rhody waters.
The study reveals that while the number of fishermen nationwide appears static, much is going on under the surface. It divides fishermen into retained and recruited anglers, those who renew licenses for years, and those who slip through the system. It will come as no surprise that the largest group of retained anglers tend to be male, rural and over 35. The recruited anglers are an interesting group: women make up about one-third of new anglers (though only 18% of retained anglers are female) and the group as a whole skews more urban and younger.
So as we go to promote Rhody waters to anglers nationwide who do we target? The recruits or renewing, or both? An interesting factoid in the survey is the size of the “die-hard” angler group. Out of the 33 million or so folks who fish every year nationwide, only 4% of them buy a license every year (10 out of 10 years.) 52% of the angling population may buy a license two years running.
So other than the folks like us, who fished as children, fish regularly and will travel to fish for both relaxation and adventure, who are we looking for?
For answers check out this interesting survey on our Coastal Angler website and let us know what you think! www.coastalanglermag.com/rhodeisland or email me at lisad@coastalanglermagazine.com
