Participation
According to the latest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report, nearly 40 million anglers generate over $45 billion in retail sales with a $125 billion impact on the nation’s economy creating employment for over one million people.
This info will help the reader to better understand the number of people who fish and the level of fishing activity in the U.S. Details are provided for freshwater fishing, Great Lakes fishing and saltwater fishing. Additional information is listed regarding the days of fishing activity in the U.S. as well as the number of fishing licenses sold and the factors that cause license sales to go up or down.
Most of the angling statistics on this Web site are currently based on the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife–Associated Recreation. This multi-million dollar survey, conducted every five years by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, provides a wealth of data about anglers. The American Sportfishing Association uses this data to develop insights into angler numbers, expenditures and activities.
ASA has released 2006 sportfishing economic figures in the new report Sportfishing in America: An Economic Engine and Conservation Powerhouse. Additional economic information is provided in the Sales and Economic Trends. The more detailed report, Today’s Angler, will be available in early 2008.
Angler Lifestyle Analysis
This section contains information regarding an analysis of state fishing license
data to learn where people are more likely to take up fishing or to drop out,
how loyal people are as license buyers and anglers, trends driving angler numbers
and more. By the end of 2006, reports for a maximum of 16 states will be available.
This project is being conducted in partnership with the Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies and ASA with funding from the Sport Fish Restoration Multi-State
Grant program.
Most Requested Reports
The American Sportfishing Association regularly releases information regarding angling trends and impacts, economic data and more.
Fishing Participation
This section provides data regarding the number of anglers and days of
fishing in freshwater and saltwater plus information describing avid
freshwater and saltwater anglers.
Fishing License Sales
This section provides
access to data for annual license sales and revenues, the factors that
cause fishing license sales and participation to change and an index
that tracks quarterly license sales trends by region.
Archives
This section provides archived information on fishing license sales, rainfall indices and tackle sales trends.
Third Party Resources
This is a partial list of additional third-party
data sources commonly used by the American Sportfishing Association to
track fishing participation. Inclusion in this list does not indicate
an endorsement by ASA but are provided for information only.
Looking
to fish on a National Wildlife Refuge? This guidebook provides
information about fishing opportunities on National Wildlife Refuges
across the country.
