February 2008 American Sportfishing Association Member Update
Member Updates are e-mailed monthly to members of the American Sportfishing Association and our partners on issues of interest to the future of fishing. For more information, contact ASA Communications, 703.519.9691.
BELOW IS A LIST OF TOPICS IN THIS UPDATE. Please scroll down for the complete document. Previous ASA Member Updates are available in the ASA Newsroom.
Each month, ASA e-mails an update on its Government Affairs activities called Policy Watch. These documents can be found in the Government Affairs section of ASA’s Web site.
ICAST 2008 – Follow Your Instincts
ASA’s Consumer Shows Kick-off 2008 Season
ASA Supports Summer Flounder Research
ASA Vice President Visits Japan
ASA Board to Meet During Long Beach Show
Welcome New Members
Service Provider Spotlight
December/January 2008 ASA Newsletter Available
Mark Your Calendars for the 2008 Sportfishing Summit
2008 National Casting Call and Family and Youth Fun Day
EFTTEX 2008
ASA Bids Farewell to Leslie Boatman
FishAmerica Foundation Updates
Future Fisherman Foundation Updates
Message from ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman
ICAST 2008—Follow Your Instincts
For more information about the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) 2008, including answers to frequently asked questions, visit ICAST on the web at www.asafishing.org/icast. If you have other questions, or need further assistance contact ICAST Coordinator Ken Andres, x231, or ICAST Director Maria del Valle, x240.
Exhibiting at ICAST 2008
ICAST 2008, the world’s largest showcase of innovation in sportfishing gear and accessories under one roof, will be held July 16–18 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Limited exhibit space is still available, so follow your instincts and reserve your space for ICAST 2008 now. The exhibit space contract and floor plan are available on ASA’s Web site, along with a current list of exhibitors and exhibitor FAQs. Remaining booth space is going quickly, so companies who want to exhibit at the world’s largest sportfishing industry expo should submit an exhibit space contract as soon as possible to ensure their business is front and center for the 2,000 buyers and 400 media representatives who attend the show. For more information visit ICAST on the Web or contact ICAST Associate Ken Andres, x240.
ICAST 2008 Exhibitor Service Manual
Exhibitors who have paid both their booth fees and their ASA membership dues should receive their Exhibitor Service Manual in mid-April. Please contact Ann Sweeney, Membership manager, x241, if you need assistance regarding membership dues. For more information or to reserve your exhibit space, contact Ken Andres, x231.
ICAST 2008 Exhibitor and Attendee Registration
Online registration for ICAST exhibitors and attendees is open. The easiest and most efficient way to register is through the ICAST Web site. When registering, please review the registration forms carefully, as some options have changed. ICAST 2008 registration materials will be mailed at the end of March. For more information contact Ken Andres, x231.
Exhibitor Promo Pak Is Available
One of the best resources ASA provides for its exhibitors is the Exhibitor Promo Pak. The Promo Pak contains many items to help exhibitors promote their booths and attract buyers to the show. A hard copy of the Promo Pak will be mailed to all confirmed exhibitors in March, so keep an eye on your mail box. A downloadable PDF is also available on the Web site. For more information contact Ken Andres, x231.
ICAST 2008 Sponsorship Opportunities Available
Sponsorships for ICAST 2008 are still available. ICAST sponsorship opportunities are a great way to raise your company’s visibility during the world’s largest sportfishing trade show. Sponsorship opportunities are priced to meet every budget so take advantage now, and ensure that your company receives the best opportunity to be front and center for the industry’s biggest players. For more information on sponsorship opportunities contact Ken Andres, x231.
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ASA Vice President Visits Japan
In February ASA Vice President Gordon Robertson attended the Japan International Sportfishing Show and met with members of the Japan Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Association to discuss issues of mutual importance. Also attending the show were ASA members Jeff Pontius and David Martin, Zebco/WC Bradley; KC Walsh, Simms Fishing Products; and Roger Cannon, Normark Inc., Canada.
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ASA’s Consumer Shows Kick-off 2008 Season
ASA’s East Coast consumer show launched the 2008 season at the February 7–10, Eastern Fishing & Outdoor Exposition in Worcester, Mass. The West Coast ASA/Fred Hall’s Fishing Tackle, Boat & Travel Show will open its season March 5–9 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif. The Eastern Fishing & Outdoor Exposition in Suffern, New York, held at the Rockland Community College Field House, ran from February 28–March 1. The final show is March 14–16, in Somerset, New Jersey, at the Garden State Exhibit Center. The second ASA/Fred Hall show runs from March 26–30, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego, Calif.
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ASA Supports Summer Flounder Research Fund
ASA, along with its members American Rod & Gun and Henry’s/Big Rock Sports, is showing its support for summer flounder anglers by contributing to the Save the Summer Flounder Fund. The donation includes a Mako 17-foot, center console boat with accessories to be raffled off on June 28, 2008, during an SSFF event in Brielle, New Jersey. Tickets will be available at the ASA/Eastern Fishing & Outdoor Exposition Saltwater Fishing Expo, Garden Sate Exhibit Center, March 14–16, in Somerset, New Jersey. The price is $20.00 per ticket. The monies raised by ASA will go towards scientific research regarding summer flounder stock assessments and management.
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ASA Board to Meet During Long Beach Show
ASA’s Board of Directors, Membership Committee, Show Committee and Nominating Committee will meet in March in Long Beach, Calif., in conjunction with the ASA/Fred Hall’s Fishing Tackle & Boat Show. The Membership Committee meets March 5 from 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. The Show Committee meets March 6 from 9:00 a.m.–noon. The Nominating Committee meets March 7 from 7:30 a.m.–9:00 a.m. ASA’s Board of Directors meets March 7 from 9:15 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
For more information contact Joyce Anderson-Logan, x233.
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Welcome New Members!
ASA welcomes new and returning members that renewed their memberships in February: Adventure Advertising, LLC, Buford, Georgia; Bass Anglers Guide, Martinez, California; Bloodydecks, LLC, Lakeside, California; Dalian Ocean Fishing Tackle, Co., Ltd., Dalian, China; DuraSafe, Inc., New Berlin, Wisconsin; Guy Harvey, Inc., Davie, Florida; J & T International (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China; Kid's Life, Inc., Grafton, Massachusetts; Lake-Link, Inc., Princeton, Wisconsin; Neoptx, Miramar, Florida; Ontelcom, Inc., Snellville, Georgia; Paadz Products, Inc., Everett, Washington; Rite in the Rain, Tacoma, Washington; Sangan Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd., Yangzhou, China; Shenzhen Rich-in Fishing Tackle Co. Ltd., Shenzen, China; Sporting Traditions Charitable Trust, Inc., Key Biscayne, Florida; Invisible Sinker, Gulfport, Florida; Surf or Sound Realty, Manteo, North Carolina; Twinpeaks Leisure Company Pty, Ltd., Sidney, Australia; and Wuxi Dekai Int’l Trade Co., Ltd., Wuxi, China.
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Service Provider Spotlight
ASA offers discounted teleconferencing services through its partnership with ConferTel, a leading teleconferencing company. ConferTel is offering ASA members a special introductory deal of 300 free minutes of phone conferencing and a free trial of Web conferencing. There are no obligations when using ConferTel’s services and satisfaction is guaranteed. ASA members should provide promotion code 3948 to receive their 300 minutes of free conferencing. Only ASA members will receive this offer. For more information or to create an account, contact Garrett Colbert, 866.930.4500, or visit ConferTel’s Web site at www.confertel.net.
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December/January 2008 ASA Newsletter Available
The December/January issue of American Sportfishing is available on ASA’s Web site. The issue contains a range of information pertinent to the sportfishing industry and the wider sportfishing community.
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Mark Your Calendars for the 2008 Sportfishing Summit
ASA invites its members and partners to the 2008 Sportfishing Summit scheduled for October 29–31, at the San Luis Resort on Galveston Island, Texas. ASA’s staff and Board of Directors met immediately after the 2007 Summit to jump-start the planning process for 2008. ASA plans to have a program in place and information distributed before ICAST 2008. For more information contact Mary Jane Williamson, x227.
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2008 National Casting Call and Family and Youth Fun Day
ASA, the Future Fisherman Foundation and a number of other organizations are once again supporting the Family and Youth Fun Day and National Casting Call, produced by the American Fly Fishing Trade Association. The events are scheduled for April 27–28, respectively, at Fletcher’s Cove on the C & O Canal in Washington, DC. The highlight of both events is fishing for American and hickory shad during their annual run up the Potomac River. Both events include fishing, fishing demonstrations, educational activities and recognition of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan supporters. For more information contact Mary Jane Williamson, x277.
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EFTTEX 2008
The European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) is hosting its 2008 trade show, the European Fishing Tackle Trade Exhibition (EFTTEX), June 13–15 in Rome, Italy. For more information about EFTTEX 2008 or EFTTA, visit www.eftta.com.
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ASA Bids Farewell to Leslie Boatman
Communications Associate Leslie Boatman has left the ASA staff for a position with the Transportation Intermediaries Association. We wish Leslie all the best in her new endeavors. If you have questions please contact Communications Director Mary Jane Williamson, x227.
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FishAmerica Foundation Updates
To help FishAmerica keep our nation’s fish and waters healthy, contact Executive Director Johanna Laderman, x245, or Grants Manager Erica George, x247. Donate to FishAmerica online!
FishAmerica Provides Chesapeake Bay Watershed Projects Funding
The FishAmerica Foundation, in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, awarded $103,349 to four fish habitat and passage projects in the Maryland Chesapeake Bay watershed with $173,726 in matching cash and in-kind donations. Volunteers are donating more than 500 hours to these projects. The projects will restore fish passage to nearly two miles of streams along the Green Branch of the Patuxent River in Upper Marlboro; fish passage to more than 46 square miles of habitat along Gunpowder Falls in Baltimore County; improve fish passage to more than one mile of high quality eastern brook trout habitat along Cash Valley Run in La Vale; and improve oyster reef fish habitat at Chinks Point at the mouth of the Severn River.
FishAmerica Provides Gulf of Maine Projects Funding
FishAmerica, in partnership with Region 5 (Northeast) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, awarded $185,000 in support of 13 assessment projects that will help to restore fish passage and fish habitat at dams, culverts and road crossings in the Gulf of Maine watershed. Once complete these projects will open 54 miles of streams in four of the six Gulf of Maine watersheds for Atlantic salmon, striped bass and other recreationally important fish.
FishAmerica Provides Funding to Improve Family Fishing Opportunities
FishAmerica has awarded $31,200 to improve family fishing opportunities in Idaho, Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania. These projects are funded with donations from Pro Line Manufacturing and earnings from FishAmerica’s Charvat-Reichert Endowment. Local communities and their partners will provide a five-to-one match to FishAmerica’s grants with more than $155,000 in cash and in-kind donations. Volunteers will donate 5,500 hours to restore or create these family fishing waters.
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Future Fisherman Foundation Updates
For more information on Future Fisherman activities, contact Executive Director Anne Danielski, x254.
Foundation Receives Record Number of Physh Ed Program Applications
Physh Ed has received a record number of applications, up 20 percent over last year, from teachers interested in integrating fishing and boating activities into their classrooms for the 2008–2009 school year. Currently in its fifth year, Physh Ed provides funding for interdisciplinary, multifaceted approaches to teach fishing and boating to school-aged youth. For the 2008–2009 school year, the grant process was opened to include all teachers in order to expand the program’s reach for fishing and boating instruction and the conservation message. Since its inception Physh Ed grants have been awarded to 345 schools in 35 states and have provided fishing education and on-the-water experiences to more than 80,000 students.
Physh Ed Conducting Program Evaluation
In addition to diversifying teacher participation, the Future Fisherman Foundation is conducting an in-depth evaluation of the Physh Ed program to create an improved institutional understanding of how to better deliver fishing education within the traditional school setting. Study results will be available in June 2008.
Own a tournament collectible!
The Future Fisherman Foundation has a unique opportunity for angling enthusiasts to own a piece of angling history. Now being offered on eBay is a one-of-a-kind pro tournament fishing shirt autographed by some of the sport’s biggest stars including 2007 Bassmaster Classic Winner Boyd Duckett, 2007 Angler of the Year Skeet Reese along with Kelly Jordon, Tommy Biffle and other top bass fishing pros. Go to eBay, www.ebay.com, and enter item number 160213820465 to bid on the tournament pro shirt. The Foundation also has a great B.A.S.S. hat autographed by the same pros available for bid as well. The shirt also features the foundation’s sponsors’ logos. The shirt and the printing were donated by Gemini Sports Marketing. Don’t miss this opportunity to get some great gear AND help out a great cause. Contact Anne Danielski, x254, for more information. The auction ends March 10.
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Message from ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman
There are a lot of variations on the “getting there” theme. One of my favorites is from the master of stating-the-obvious himself, baseball great Yogi Berra who once said, "If you don't know where you’re going, you will wind up somewhere else."
Over the past several days, I’ve been reviewing the results of the 2008 American Sportfishing Association’s Member Survey to see what you, our members, have to say about the work of your association and the direction in which we are going to serve your business needs. Yogi’s quote seemed an appropriate one for, like so many things in life, if we don’t know where we’re going, we may just may end up somewhere that is not to your, our members, liking.
First, I want to thank our members who took the time to participate in this semi-annual survey and to thank you for your additional comments. Over a third of our members took the survey, quite a few more than who took the survey in 2006. We feel confident that the answers we received give us a good snapshot of how we, the association staff and member leaders, are doing to address the needs of the sportfishing industry. We are here to serve your interests and the Member Survey is one of the best methods we have to gauge just how well we’re doing that.
The survey clearly tells us that the two top issues in which ASA should, and does; play an active role is the number of anglers and access to fishing opportunities. Quality of fishing also ranked very high which certainly relates to the other two.
First, let me focus on participation. A number of years ago, ASA looked out across the landscape and saw several things – fishing participation was declining and there was no one entity that had the ability or real dollars to focus on turning that decline around. So, we helped create the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF), with a dedicated funding source originating in the federal manufacturers excise tax, to address fishing and boating participation. I’m happy to say that over the past twelve months, under Frank Peterson’s leadership, RBFF has put into place several programs that we, the foundation’s Board, are confident can make an impact on participation and license sales. The new states’ license sales initiative along with the Anglers’ Legacy program for avid anglers will have an impact.
The Future Fisherman Foundation, with RBFF support, is also making inroads with the school-based Physh Ed National Fishing and Boating Grants Initiative. The foundation’s partnership with the Department of Justice and Boys & Girls Clubs in cities throughout the U.S. is also having an impact on teaching urban-based boys and girls to fish.
These are just two of the programs with which we work everyday. There are many more out there. We have got to do what we can to get people, particularly our young people, away from the computer and the TV, out of the house and into the outdoors. Their lives, and our livelihoods, depend on it.
The other issue is access. If there was ever a more serious issue to face us as an industry; I’m not sure what it would be. It used to be that fishing ranked right up there with Mom and apple pie as one of the most popular and respected of American pastimes. Over the past decade, the proven methods of science-based recreational fisheries management have come under attack by those who oppose the practice, but who have no better solution than to seek to prohibit anglers from doing what they enjoy most – spending a day on the water with family and friends. Denying access to public resources to the very people who pay for the privilege through tackle and motorboat fuel taxes and fishing license fees, runs counter to everything that is right about this country.
Anglers and boaters in California, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington State, the states that border the Gulf of Mexico and other saltwater fishing states are all experiencing some kind of issue related to fishing access. Although it may seem like the squeaky wheel syndrome for our members who concentrate on freshwater fishing, I assure you, the lessons we learn in these states, and the successes we have, will only prove to serve us better when attention is placed on freshwater access. The attention is coming and we must be prepared.
To you our members, once again, thank you for your confidence in the American Sportfishing Association. I also want to thank the ASA staff for their dedication to our mission. My staff and I come in each day prepared to fight the good fight on your behalf.
ICAST 2008 is just around the corner and I’m looking forward to seeing you this July in Las Vegas.
Thank you for your continued support!
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