Recreational fishing is experiencing a national resurgence, and Indiana is one of the states leading the way.

A report issued earlier this week pointed to a 7.7 percent increase nationally in fishing license sales so far this year. Indiana is doing even better with an 8.1 percent increase.

The Indiana DNR sold 49,111 more licenses in the first nine months of 2009 than were purchased in the same period of 2008. The increase resulted in a revenue boost of more than $748,000 to the state's fish and wildlife fund.

The national sales report was announced by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) as the first of a planned quarterly fishing license sales index designed to track trends that have an impact on recreational fishing.

"Reasons for the 2009 license sale increases range from a slow economy, which may allow people more time to engage in outdoor activities, to recreational fishing being a lower cost alternative to other forms of recreation," said Frank Peterson, president and CEO of the RBFF.

The RBFF is in the second-year of a partnership with Indiana DNR and several other states that promotes fishing to former license buyers through a direct mail marketing campaign.
 
"Not since the 1970s have we seen a single-year increase in fishing license sales like we've seen so far in 2009," ASA president and CEO Mike Nussman said in a news release issued jointly by the two organizations. "This new license metric will provide everyone with important sales and participation information."

Indiana is one of 11 states selected for the quarterly index because of its ability to provide consistent sales data that helps illustrate both a national and regional perspective. Other states included in the initial index were Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Utah. More states will be added to the index as they expand their data reporting capacity.

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