Press Releases

ALEXANDRIA, VA (October 15, 2009) – Visitors to the Take Me Fishing™ campaign Web site rate their overall experience and satisfaction at an all-time high, according to an annual survey being released today. The online survey of more than 1,000 site visitors revealed TakeMeFishing.org - the premier online destination for boaters and anglers to learn, plan and equip for a day on the water - also had a positive impact on visitors’ boating and fishing behaviors.

“This is great news because it shows our efforts to improve the site and enhance the user’s boating and fishing experience is making a difference,” said Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) President and CEO Frank Peterson. “It also gives us valuable insight to boaters and anglers needs, which fuels our strategy to provide relevant and useful information that people of all ages and experience levels can use to enjoy a day on the water.”

ADDITIONAL KEY FINDINGS:

• One-half of TakeMeFishing.org visitors (51 percent) indicated that they had gone fishing 10 or more times in the past 12 months, significantly higher than non-site visitors (41 percent).
• TakeMeFishing.org had a positive impact on visitors, with six in 10 reporting that the site was influential on their past fishing and boating behaviors, and more than eight in 10 reporting that they plan to visit the site again in the future.
• State fishing license purchases (among those seeking this type of information) significantly increased among visitors from 2008 (36.4 percent) to 2009 (47.7 percent).
• One third of respondents (33 percent) reported that TakeMeFishing.org has contributed to their likelihood to go fishing in the next 12 months, with one quarter (26 percent) also reporting the site has contributed to their likelihood to go fishing from a boat in the same time period.
• More than one third (37 percent) have visited the boating section on TakeMeFishing.org with eight in 10 indicating they were satisfied with the content.
• Ten percent of respondents indicated they were Fishington members. Among this group, seven in ten (70 percent) were satisfied with the features.

TakeMeFishing.org earned national recognition in 2009 with awards from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the Web Marketing Association. In addition, the site’s social network, Fishington – The Fishing & Boating Capital of the Internet, was recognized by the Webby Awards and the Web Marketing Association.

The survey of TakeMeFishing.org users was conducted in August 2009 by Brunner, Inc. An executive summary is available upon request. Please e-mail requests to RBFF Online Strategies Manager Maria Knight at mknight@rbff.org.

About 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 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™.