AUTHORS: Josef Hrabowski, Ball State University; Sandy Clark-Kolaks, Indiana DNR; Emily McCallen, Indiana DNR; Len Hunt, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; Faezeh Soleimani, Ball State University ;Paul Venturelli, Ball State University
ABSTRACT: Recreational fishing license sales have been declining for almost a decade in many US states, greatly impacting management funding. A detailed knowledge of the license buying patterns of specific population segments could allow agencies to tailor their marketing and management more efficiently. We used the ESRI Tapestry system to identify life-mode-specific, spatial and temporal patterns of license sales in Indiana between 2012 and 2022. Each life mode describes a population segment based on demographic (e.g., age and household makeup), economic (e.g., income and profession) and behavior (e.g., recreational preferences and affinity to technology). We found that the majority of license holders in Indiana in all years were older people living in more rural communities. However, younger urban population segments had the largest increase in license sales during 2020 (i.e., during the COVID pandemic). This suggests that the younger urban population segment is interested in fishing but does not have the time for this hobby during normal years. We also calculated churn rates by market segment as well as identify recruitment, retention and reactivation trends. We saw that while older people make up a higher proportion of total license purchases, they were more likely to drop in or out, while younger segments who a higher consistency. We also examined spatial patterns of license purchases while taking the observed differences of market segments into account, to identify possible geographic influences. We found that the availability of boat ramps and boat docks had the greatest influence on license purchases. Information gathered through the analysis of purchasing patterns by population segment will allow agencies to identify barriers to fishing, and tailor marketing, communications, and management to specific segments.
