Rising gasoline prices will impact the amount of fishing participation this fall. According to a poll of 2,481 sportsmen and women conducted by AnglerSurvey.com, more than half of anglers indicated that rising gas prices will cause them to reduce their time on the water or reduce their travel distance this year. The rest either indicated that rising fuel prices would not hinder their fishing activity, or they weren’t sure of the impacts rising gas prices would have on their fishing this year.
Rob Southwick, an economist and president of AnglerSurvey.com, said, “We’ve seen in past research that rising gasoline prices depress fishing license sales in many areas, but the recent increases in fuel prices are unprecedented. Many anglers gradually accept higher prices and will return to the water and participate in fishing as they have before. However, until the effects of higher fuel prices can be moderated via higher efficiency engines and other solutions, we might loose some anglers completely.”
The specific results of the survey were as follows:
Anglers
Higher prices will not affect my hunting activities.—35.5 percent
Higher prices will cause me to hunt less this year.—22.4 percent
I will probably hunt the same amount this year, but not travel as far or use a boat as much because of rising fuel costs.—30 percent
I am not sure how gasoline prices will affect my hunting this year.—12 percent
AnglerSurvey.com is a monthly online national survey of sportsmen that provides industry and policymakers with information on fishing trends and activity. For more information, visit SouthwickAssociates.com or e-mail Rob Southwick at Rob@southwickassociates.com.