Remarks by Mike Nussman ASA President and CEO State of the Industry Breakfast July 12, 2017 Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida Good morning! I m Mike Nussman, president of the American Sportfishing Association. I want to start by thanking Senator Negron for his comments and for his hard work on legislation that benefits all of us. I also want to welcome our other guests from Florida and thank you for taking time from your schedules to be with us here, to learn more about our industry, our issues and see a great show! It s our pleasure to be your hosts. Three short years ago, our board of directors asked us to do what we could as an association to ensure that Florida remained the Fishingest state in the Nation. Since that time, we ve hired staff in the state and really doubled down in Florida in terms of our efforts. So to our friends in the Florida legislature and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, I want to thank 1
you for your help, for the partnership you ve offered and I can say we look forward to Keeping Florida Fishing for years to come. I also want to join my chairman in plugging our industry s PAC, our political action committee. It s really important in making us more effective as your advocates and I want to give a big shout out to our Sportfishing PAC supporters. They have personally written checks to help ensure that our industry has a voice in Washington. Thanks to each of you! I m keeping my remarks brief this morning because we have a full schedule but there are three areas that I have to mention First, it is quite obvious that to all of us that our marketplace is changing. Whether it s through consolidation of our members, where and how we source products and the tax consequences of those decisions, or the impact of the internet on sales on our industry, we re in the midst of a period of rapid change. When the lead article in the Wall Street Journal is about Nike rethinking its strategy regarding Amazon, it should come as no surprise that companies in this room are having the same thoughts. The ever-increasing trend in online purchases and away from brick and mortar, mall-based shopping is changing how America buys. Our industry is, and will continue to be, impacted by these strong trends. 2
Secondly, we ve seen significant change in Washington. With the Trump Administration taking over in January, and the appointment of Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, we ve found renewed support for promoting and advancing outdoor recreation for all Americans to enjoy. This includes improving infrastructure and prioritizing recreation in federal management plans and budgets. We have been asking for this for a long time and it s gratifying to see a Secretary willing to work with us. Over in the Department of Commerce, Secretary Wilbur Ross has met with our community, he heard our concerns regarding inequities in Federal saltwater fisheries management, and I m pleased to report that he has responded. He extended the Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper season to include weekends throughout the summer. And he changed the make-up of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to give recreational anglers better representation on that body. Now, there is still a lot of work to be done, and I mean a lot, if we are to modernize saltwater fishery management, but we re very pleased to see Commerce elevate our sport and our industry to the level it deserves. Finally, last year I outlined what our industry under the leadership of the Recreational Fishing and Boating Foundation - sees as key to getting more people fishing and boating the R3 of recruitment, retention and reactivation. Here, a year later, I m happy to report that several state fish and wildlife agencies have taken significant steps to improve the fishing license 3
customer service experience. In addition, they have also started hiring social media and marketing staff to specifically address how to recruit, retain and bring back lapsed angers to the sport. It should come as no surprise to anyone here that, once again, Florida is leading the way. Our keynote speaker, Jay Baer, has been instrumental in walking state agency staff through this process and I m glad to have him here today. Our industry s R3 efforts are being led by ASA s 60 in 60 Committee. The committee has created materials that anyone can use to inform and educate employees and customers alike about the 60 in 60 campaign. Our Committee has also created a partnership evaluation checklist to assist you in reviewing requests for gear donations. These tools are available on ASA s website. And there is much more to come. And speaking of that, if you would like to know more about any of these issues, you need to attend our Sportfishing Summit this October 10 th through the 13 th at the Opal Sands Resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Last year we had 120 companies in attendance and this year we re looking to beat that. You will have the opportunity to learn from experts and peers alike on these topics and many more.plus it will be the best industry networking event of the year. 4
I promised to be brief so with that, I m going to turn the podium over to Frank Peterson, President of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. Frank. Thank you, Jay, for that compelling presentation. Jay is conducting his Hug Your Haters seminar at 10:00 this morning in room 221 D-E. If you re lucky, one of his books by the same title will be yours to take home. Thanks for being here. And have a great show! 5