Press Releases
ALEXANDRIA, VA (February 19, 2008) – The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) today announced that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will both participate in a direct mail marketing effort to increase fishing license sales. The lapsed angler recruitment program was designed by RBFF to increase participation in the sport and generate awareness of the connection between fishing license sales and conservation efforts. Over the next year, 30 states nationwide will begin to reach out to lapsed anglers to encourage them to purchase a fishing license and get back out on the water.
“We know that state agencies across the country are committed to reaching out to lapsed anglers to remind them to purchase a fishing license,” said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson. “We hope this year’s program can bring back 375,000 lapsed anglers and generate $5.6 million for those states who participate.”
“A decline in the percentage of Alaskan residents who buy an annual sport fishing license in relation to the total resident population is impacting our ability to protect, manage and improve Alaska’s abundant and diverse recreational fisheries resource,” said Charles O. Swanton, director of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Sport Fisheries Division. “The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is pleased to partner with RBFF in a campaign to re-engage resident Alaskan anglers who have not purchased a sport fishing license in recent years, by inviting them to once again participate in the world-renowned sport fishing opportunities that Alaska has to offer.”
“Like many state wildlife agencies, we have dedicated sizable staff time and resources to hunter and angler recruitment and retention,” said Gary Myers, the executive director of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). “It seems the more we learn about our customers the more we realize that our marketing learning curve is steeper than we initially thought. Benchmarking the experience that RBFF has gained through their research in other states will help the TWRA save time and money by implementing tested and proven angler recruitment and retention marketing practices.”
The product includes direct mail templates, instructions to implement a direct mail campaign and marketing assistance from RBFF. More information about the program, including press announcements and a list of participating states is available online at RBFF.org.
About RBFF
RBFF is a nonprofit organization established in 1998 to increase participation in recreational angling and boating. RBFF helps people discover, share and protect the legacy of boating and fishing through national outreach programs including the Take Me Fishing campaign and Anglers’ Legacy.
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