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There’s no denying that fishing and boating are seeing a boom in interest and participation during the coronavirus pandemic. With so much in flux, Americans are looking for fun, safe outdoor activities to keep them occupied. During a time of uncertainty, this has been a boon to the fishing and boating industry. But, while this bump in participation is great for the near-term, we want to make sure this isn’t just a blip on the radar, but the start of a longer trend of Americans returning to the water for years to come.

With that in mind, we have partnered with the global market research firm, Ipsos to conduct a survey of fishing and boating participants that either took up the activity during the pandemic or returned to the water after a long hiatus. As an industry, we need to fully understand this audience if we are going to keep them engaged, keep participation on the rise, and keep the sales churning.

What motivated these new participants to try their hand at fishing or boating? What brought them back after years away from the sport? What barriers did they face? And what barriers will they face in the future? What support do they need from RBFF and the industry to keep going strong in their new-found hobby? These questions and more, along with highly detailed demographic information, are what RBFF and Ipsos will find answers to with this research, which is currently being fielded.

What does this mean for our industry? In addition to helping drive RBFF’s marketing and communications for the next several years, this research will be made available for all RBFF stakeholders so we can work together to get this new crop of anglers and boaters to stick to it. These new participants represent a tremendous opportunity for sustained growth within our industry, and we want to equip you with all the tools to get them to stay in the sport.

This research is set to be finalized in November, so keep on the lookout for updates from RBFF on Twitter, LinkedIn, and in our monthly NewsWaves newsletter.