US female fishing market worth additional $1bn to industry

Increasing women’s participation in fishing in the US could provide an additional $1 billion revenue for the industry, with each female participant worth nearly $1,000 annually.

These are among the key findings in new intelligence from the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and research firm, Southwick Associates.

The research was conducted to find out more about the financial impacts of increased female participation, and found that a 10% increase could provide that additional billion dollars.

“We know that recruiting and retaining female anglers is critical to growing fishing and boating participation overall,” said RBFF President and CEO, Dave Chanda. “The industry stands to benefit greatly from focusing more on this growing audience.”

Key regional information in the research reveals that women in the South and Midwest both spent around $3.5 billion on fishing. In the Midwest, they each spent an average of $1,106 annually and in the South that figure was $796 per person.

The RBFF recently launched its research-backed Take Me Fishing ‘Find Your Best Self on the Water’ campaign to help women discover the life-changing benefits of fishing and boating.