Frank Peterson
The Recreational Boating &
Fishing Foundation (RBFF)
is celebrating 20 years of
boosting the amount of
people enjoying sport on
the water by at least a fi fth.
The foundation, which
promotes fi shing and
boating across the USA, was
founded in October 1998
NEWS | NOVEMBER 2018
US angler and boater
numbers grow over 20 years
with the aim of encouraging
more participants on the
water. It has spent that time
recruiting, retaining and
reactivating (R3) anglers and
boaters through marketing
campaigns, partnerships,
grants and more.
Since its beginnings, RBFF
has worked to educate
consumers, bring them to
the water to try fi shing and
boating, keep them active
and work with state fi sh
and wildlife agencies and
the industry to bring lapsed
participants back.
RBFF President and CEO
Frank Peterson said, “In
the years leading up to
RBFF’s founding, fi shing
participation was down
and critical conservation
programs were suffering as a
result. I feel we at RBFF have
corrected-course.
“Fishing participation
has increased nearly 20 per
cent over the last 10 years,
no doubt due in large part
to our marketing efforts,
partnerships and programs,
and we are making strong
progress toward our 60 in 60
goal.”
The 60 in 60 campaign
aims to increase numbers
of anglers in 60 months in
the United States from 46
million to 60 million.
Critical to RBFF’s success
has been the inclusion of
emerging audiences in the
foundation’s marketing,
communications and
programs. As the United
States continues to grow
more diverse each year,
effectively engaging these
audiences will prove more
and more critical to our
industry’s success.
Encouragingly, RBFF’s work
in this area is resonating.
Female anglers accounted
for 45 per cent of new
participants and Hispanic
participation is at its highest
level (4.2 million) since data
on this segment was fi rst
collected.