20th Anniversary of National Fishing and Boating Week Celebrates High Participation, Contribution to Conservation
Recruiting and retaining new anglers and boaters for the benefit of critical conservation programs remains primary focus
The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) is celebrating the 20th anniversary of National Fishing and Boating Week (June 4-12) alongside its industry and government partners as fishing participation exceeds 50 million Americans for just the second time in nearly 15 years.
The weeklong celebration includes Free Fishing Days in dozens of states and D.C., hands-on learning opportunities featuring Take Me Fishing™ Mobile First Catch Centers, a Women Making Waves media trip to Seattle, and more.
“Fishing and boating have both experienced tremendous growth not only during the past two years, but throughout the past two decades,” said Stephanie Vatalaro, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “The growth not only benefits our industry with new customers and sales, it provides more funding and resources for critical conservation programs.”
Throughout the week, partners are encouraged to use RBFF’s toolkit which provides messaging guidance, photos, a special anniversary logo, and relevant links to join the celebration. The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) will also support the weeklong event through its “Fishing… Share the Fun” campaign.
Across its social media channels and digital platforms, Take Me Fishing will be leading the #NFBW2022 conversation with how-to and where-to content, influencer partnerships, and conservation through participation messaging.
ABOUT RBFF
RBFF is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase recreational angling and boating participation, thereby protecting and restoring the nation's aquatic natural resources. RBFF's 60 in 60 effort strives to attract 60 million anglers to the sport by the end of 2021. To help recruit, retain and reactivate participants, RBFF developed the award-winning Take Me Fishing™ and Vamos A Pescar™ campaigns to build awareness of boating, fishing, and conservation and educate people about the benefits of participation.
The campaign websites feature how-to-videos and an interactive state-by-state map that allows visitors to find local boating and fishing spots, helping boaters and anglers of all ages and experience levels learn, plan, and equip for a successful day on the water.
RBFF also offers its industry stakeholders many tools including a Fishing License & Boat Registration Plugin to connect their customers with the information they need in just one click, as well as an embeddable Places to Fish & Boat Map to help their customers discover places to fish and boat near them.
For further information: Bruna Carincotte, bcarincotte@rbff.org, 202-743-9894