American Sportfishing Association

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Factors Driving State Fishing License Sales and Revenues

Using State Fishing License Sales Data to Measure Factors that Impact Fishing Participation

The results of this report can help fishing tackle industry members understand the factors that drive our trade. These results are based on a study the ASA conducted with funding provided by state fish and wildlife agencies (the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies) to analyze the factors that cause fishing license sales to go up or down. The main emphasis was on the effects of fishing license price changes, but the results showed how much impact various factors (gasoline prices, rain fall, population changes and more) have on fishing license sales, and therefore the overall effects on fishing participation.

To accomplish its goals, this project pursued two major objectives:

Objective I: Scientifically determine: (1) specific licenses that can or cannot be increased; (2) the amount licenses can be increased; (3) projected revenues with optimized license fees; and (4) expected changes in units sold.

Objective II: Identify the factors that cause license sales to rise or fall, and how these factors impact each state's annual license sales and revenues.

The statistical models used in this report were developed using historical fishing license sales data provided by individual state fish and wildlife agencies. Each participating agency was provided with its own model. Thirty six states participated in the project.

The results from the models are relative versus quantitative— they indicate how much impact a specific factor has on sales, but recognizing no one can predict or control all variable driving sales (weather, economy, etc.), the models do not accurately project the exact number of licenses any state will sell. Our models do project revenues based on the assumption that all variable affecting sales will follow long-term trends, which may not necessarily be the case.

Participating Agencies by Region
Click on a blue highlighed state to get their report.

West:

AK, AZ, CA, ID, NV, OR, WA

South Central:

AR, LA, MO, NM, OK, TX

Great Lakes:

IA, IN, IL, MI, OH, WI

Southeast:

AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN

Northeast:

CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, VA, WV

Northern Plains:

CO, KS, MN, MT, NE, ND, SD, UT, WY

This report was prepared on behalf of the American Sportfishing Association by Southwick Associates, Inc. This project was made possible by a Multistate Conservation Grant (#M-9-R), funded by the Sportfish Restoration Program and awarded by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA). This report was authored by Rob Southwick, Tom Allen, Donna Leonard and Mario Teisl, Ph.D. The authors wish to extend their appreciation to Len Singel and Eric Schwaab of IAFWA for their detailed assistance and to the many state agencies for providing license data, insights into factors that have impacted license sales, plus their suggestions and reviews. Regardless of the immense data and input received from many, the authors remain responsible for all contents herein.