RBFF Special Report on Fishing and Boating 2010

Obviously fishing is a popular part of our culture and economy, but if you get a chance, check out this report by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and Outdoor Foundation. It has some great statistics about fishing and boating paticipation in the U.S. 
Here are some of the stats from the report. Enjoy!


-In 2009, fishing participants made 996 million outings (down slightly from one billion in 2008).

-More than 45 percent of fishing participants say the economy impacts how often they participate in outdoor activities. More than 85 percent of those fishing participants plan to spend more time participating in outdoor activities in 2010.

-Freshwater fishing is most popular among young people, with more than 22.5 percent participation under the age of 18 (down slightly from 24.6 percent in 2008).

-The largest age bracket of saltwater fishing participants is over the age of 45, making up 48.1 percent of all participants.

-Fly fishing has significant growth opportunities across a number of demographics, particularly females (25.2 percent of participants), minority groups (21.5 percent of participants), and youth (16.1 percent of participants).


Hispanic Participation
-13.6 percent of Hispanics over the age of six fish - more than 70 percent are male.
-In 2009, Hispanic fishing participants made more than 62 million annual outings (up from 45.8 million in 2008).
-Hispanic youth ages six to 12 have the highest participation rate among all age groups (17.4 percent).


Youth Participation
-There are 11.2 million fishing participants ages 6 to 17, unchanged from 2008.
-Youth participation in fishing drops from 25.4 percent among those ages 6 to 12 to 19 percent among those ages 13 to 17. Time, other sports/activities, schoolwork, TV and video games are cited as barriers.

Female Participation
-Female participation in fishing falls significantly more than males through adolescence, down 44 percent as opposed to 12.9 percent.