Press Releases

ALEXANDRIA, VA (August 28, 2013) – The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) this year is celebrating 15 years as an organization. And RBFF is marking the anniversary with a round-up of key successes in its mission to increase participation in recreational boating and fishing.

“RBFF has come a long way since it was established in 1998,” said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson. “And we’ve managed to keep up with the rapidly-changing trends in technology and demographics by continually optimizing our programs and products. We’ve developed innovative online assets to deliver boating and fishing information to the consumer where and how they want it. We’ve worked closely with stakeholders to build tools that support our efforts to grow the sport, and developed critical partnerships with state agencies to increase fishing license sales, boat registration renewals and funds for state conservation projects.”

BY THE NUMBERS – 15 Highlights for 15 Years

• 88,000,000: The number of Americans who went boating in 2012 – a 6% increase from 2011 to 2012.**
• 33,100,000: The number of Americans who went fishing in 2011 – an 11% increase from 2006 to 2011.*
• $10,000,000: The value of media exposure earned by RBFF’s conservation-focused PSA campaign.
• 7,430,433: The total number of visits to TakeMeFishing.org last year - up from 325,000 annually in 2007.
• 3,300,000: The number of youth introduced to boating and fishing through RBFF’s education programs.
• 1,500,000: The total number of queries performed on the Take Me Fishing Boat Ramp App.
• 1,350,000: The number of fishing licenses sold in the first five years of RBFF’s State Fishing License Marketing Program.
• 1,219,146: The number of TakeMeFishing.org referrals to state fishing license pages last year – up 11% from previous year.
• 185,468: The number of fans/followers on Take Me Fishing’s social media channels.
• 109,224: The number of TakeMeFishing.org referrals to state boat registration pages last year – up 18% from previous year.
• 32,000: The number of boat registrations sold in the first year of RBFF’s State Boat Registration Marketing Program.
• 66: The number of industry partners who have embedded the Places to Boat & Fish Map on their company website.
• 40: The number of state partners that participated in the 2013 Fishing License Marketing Program.
• 19: The number of state partners that participated in the 2013 Boat Registration Marketing Program.
• 1 mission: To increase participation in recreational angling and boating and thereby increase public awareness and appreciation of the need to protect, conserve and restore this nation's aquatic natural resources.

*U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
**National Marine Manufacturers Association

“I’m proud to say that RBFF has accomplished a great deal in the last 15 years, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our federal, state and industry partners,” added Peterson. “Certainly, we have many things to celebrate, but our journey to increase participation in boating and fishing has only just begun.”

To learn more about RBFF’s recent successes, you can watch a highlights video and download the 2013 Annual Report. For more information about RBFF and Take Me Fishing, visit TakeMeFishing.org.

About the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF)
RBFF is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase participation in recreational angling and boating, thereby protecting and restoring the nation’s aquatic natural resources. RBFF developed the award-winning Take Me Fishing™ campaign to create awareness around boating, fishing and conservation, and educate people about the benefits of participation. Take Me Fishing helps boaters and anglers of all ages and experience levels learn, plan and equip for a day on the water. The campaign website, TakeMeFishing.org, features tips and how-to’s that can be used all over the country, tools to compare different styles of boats, information on how to get a fishing license and boat registration, and an interactive state-by-state map that allows visitors to find local boating and fishing spots.

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