DOC 2013 Taupo Fishery Review

The overall goal (fully explained in the TRM Daily Report on Monday 23 May) of the 175 page report is repeated below:

“The goal needs to recognise the multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary nature of fishery management and focus on three key elements –managing and enhancing the sports fish resource, working effectively with anglers and increasing participation in fishing, and developing strong partnerships with others to optimise the environmental, social and economic benefits for the Taupō region and beyond.”

OK?  So then TRM anglers went back to the report to see what was recommended and we leave it to anglers – aka licence holders, to decide if anything has changed or been done to “enhance” the fishery or “increase participation” for the Taupo region and beyond.  

Following is directly from the Review –

Readers are challenged to identify anything practical which would achieve the objectives of ‘enhancing’ the resource and ‘increasing participation’.  Meanwhile Taupo Fishing Licence sales continue to fall.   Anglers have suggested the report is ‘window dressing’ to impress head office with confusing marketing jargon and then do nothing…. 

Skip through the General Recommendations preliminary drivel to the Recommended Marketing Plan to see how it is done…

(Page 170)

General recommendations

Target markets

National research shows that one of the most important target markets for increasing fishing
participation among active anglers as well as increasing participation among non-anglers are other
outdoor activity groups, such as hunters, target shooters, boaters, campers, jet skiers, wildlife watchers,
campers, hikers, national/state park visitors, water skiers, and mountain bikers.

Parents with children are also an important target market for fishing promotion efforts. Since both anglers
and non-anglers report that they would be motivated to go fishing if a child asked them, parents with
children become an important market segment for increasing fishing recruitment and retention efforts.
In addition to outdoor enthusiasts and parents with children, an important target market for freshwater
fishing retention efforts includes the traditional angling constituent: rural males with middle incomes.

Information and outreach efforts targeted at the following groups in addition to other outdoor enthusiasts
and parents with children will likely show a high return in enhancing and retaining interest in freshwater
fishing: those aged 12 to 15, those with a college degree, those with incomes ranging from $20,000 to
$39,999, and individuals aged 25 to 34.
For women, regardless of ethnicity, it seemed that they were introduced to fishing as adults rather than
as children, either through their husbands, boyfriends or other males. Participants in these groups also
indicated that satisfaction from fishing occurs because the experience takes place innature. Women
seemed to have high expectations about fishing (i.e. they were disappointed when they didn’t catch any
fish) and were concerned for the pain and suffering of the fish they caught — especially if the fish were
not consumed.

Each of these groups indicated that it would be helpful to see more efforts directed at family participation
either through a family license or stressing the values learned from fishing.

Useful messages

Focus groups tested 20 short, single sentence messages by having participants rate and discuss how
they felt about each one. The following two types of messages resonated strongly and might be useful
for the Department:

1.
Messages that appealed to the value of recreational fishing and boating to fostering relationships
among family and friends
2.
The relaxation value of recreational fishing and boating. Images that stimulate memories of fishing
as a child as well as memories of being with family and friends as a child might appeal to lapsed
anglers as well

Several trends emerged from the groups that demonstrate what types of message will likely not
resonate with lapsed anglers. Participants did not respond well to messages that link recreational
fishing with “deeper” issues such as “legacy,” “heritage” or “tradition.” The economic contributions
of recreational fishing to local economies and fishing as a contribution to the protection of natural
resources did not resonate as well. This is interesting in the Taupō context, as these are messages
which have been strongly repeated in TSF communication.

Youth participation

The future of fishing ultimately depends upon the commitment of future generations. The key to
active participation in and commitment to fishing is fostering this commitment and participation
among today’s youth. Research clearly indicates that active participation in fishing as an adult is
directly related to active participation as a youth, and adult anglers typically start fishing before the
age of 20 (Responsive Management, 1996).

Research also shows that not only is active participation by an adult determined by early exposure
to fishing, but the level of adult avidity is also determined by level of exposure as a child. Those who
start fishing early in life and who fish frequently as a child are more likely to fish as adults, and fish
frequently. Conversely, those who start fishing later in life and who fish less often when young are
more likely to cease fishing altogether as adults.
Clearly, children’s exposure to fishing is critical to their participation as adults. Further, participation
by adults is critical to participation by children—adults take children fishing— continuing the cycle of
fishing recruitment and retention.

Changing attitudes about licence fees

Public support, especially among sportsmen, for license fees is important in order for agencies to
obtain funds that keep pace with inflation and to maintain fishing participation for maximizing
revenue. To increase support, fish and wildlife management agencies need to change sportsmen’s
attitudes regarding license fees. Many view licenses as a regulatory mechanism when they should
perhaps view licenses as a service agreement in which the fees for fishing are used to ensure that
the opportunities to fish will continue to be available through proper fish and wildlife management.
Education is the primary means by which sportsmen’s attitudes can be changed and support for
license fees increased.

Useful marketing approaches

All of the following approaches have shown to be successful in the American market in driving
increased licence sales.

Outdoor programmes whose goal is to encourage participation in outdoor recreation (specifically
shooting, archery, hunting, or fishing) through a mentoring arrangement.
These programmes help to coordinate events where active hunters and anglers take newcomers into
the field to introduce them to the sports.

Comprehensive marketing campaigns focused on messages, target audiences, and featured
promotions and services, utilising numerous marketing media outlets, including radio spots,
televisions advertisments, billboards, bumper stickers, and print to increase public awareness.
Direct mail postcard campaigns aimed at increasing fishing participation and generating awareness
among lapsed anglers. These campaigns need themes specifically designed to entice lapsed anglers
back into the sport by emphasizing the overall enjoyment factor of fishing, and case studies in the report can
point to some spectacular success.

Social media marketing options

At the time the Washington report was written, there would appear to be little data available to
examine with regard the effectiveness of Social Media Marketing with regards to fishing. However,
given the strong uptake of anglers of blogs and other web based information, it would stand to
reason that a well-designed social media marketing campaign would have great merit.
Companies,agencies, and organizations are increasingly turning to social media to market concepts
or products to the general public. Social media marketing often involves the initiation of a kind of
dialogue with a target audience, the objective being an establishment of credibility and trust that
goes beyond traditional marketing, which relies on advertising. Social media marketing can make an agency
or company visible among a target audience, build credibility among followers, and turn trust
and relationships into revenue.

Recommended marketing plan

At about page 124, the report delivers an extensive marketing plan for Washington State. It is worth
a read, but for our purposes I have picked out the key points which I think add value in a Taupō
context.

Marketing goals

The plan identifies 4 key goals;

Goal I: Increase Freshwater Fishing Participation 5% over the Next Five Years
Goal II: Increase Public Awareness of Fishing Opportunities
Goal III: Improve Freshwater Fishing Recruitment and Retention Efforts
Goal IV: Optimize Use of License Records and Related Data Marketing mix

The 4 ‘P’s of marketing should be central to any thinking about taking the Taupō fishery forward.

Product
A product or service is what the Taupō fishery offers its market. To understand the success of
products or services, it is important to focus on their benefits to constituents and customers. This
should be a primary filter when considering management options for the future.

Place
Place refers to the physical location where the product or service is offered. In this case, place is not
only the locations where licenses are sold, but access to fishing opportunities throughout the Taupō
district. How can the Taupō fishery open up opportunities to purchase licences, as well as other
fishing opportunities in the district?

Price
The price of a fishing license is crucial to fishing participation. It is imperative that management use
caution when developing their fishing license structures and fees, due largely to the compounding
impact of lapsed anglers on future recruitment.

Promotion
Taupō fishery currently communicates with various media across the country on an as-needed basis.
The Department uses general information, news releases, and Target Taupō to communicate
about fishing opportunities and events. Perhaps the most reliable and cost-effective method of
promotion is the Department’s website, which provides an abundance of key information about fishing
in Taupō . While these efforts may be impacting certain markets, real success needs to be measured
in attitude changes, total sales, increased awareness and knowledge, and ultimately, increased fishing
participation. Additional market research is necessary to identify what messages, themes, and media
resonate with various target markets.

Strategies
The report details a number of strategies which should be put in place to achieve the 4 goals
described above. Much of the reasoning for them is based on detailed research of the Washington
situation, and as such is perhaps less pertinent to Taupō . I have lifted out the strategies without the
supporting reasoning, as they are definitely worthy of consideration with regards Taupō .

Based on my experience with the fishery, there are a number of strategies described here which
ww have not employed at all, or perhaps not to their best advantage in others.

 

Goal I: Increase Freshwater Fishing Participation 5% over the Next Five Years

 

Objective 1: Increase fishing participation among active, occasional, and lapsed anglers.

Strategies to achieve this:
•
Maintain and increase the current number of active anglers.
•
Increase the frequency of fishing among occasional anglers.
•
Focussed marketing efforts targeting lapsed anglers.

 

Objective 2: Increase fishing participation among other target markets.

Strategies to achieve this:
•
Increase fishing participation among non-anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts.
•
Increase outreach to and participation among urban and suburban residents.
•
Increase outreach to and participation among minorities.

 

Goal II: Increase public awareness of fishing opportunities

Objective 1: Conduct primary research and develop messaging and outreach
strategies.
Strategies to achieve this:
•
Conduct market research with target markets.
•
Develop messaging strategies and outreach techniques.

 

Objective 2: Evaluate marketing and promotional efforts.

Strategies to achieve this:
•
Wherever possible, conduct follow-up research to measure the effectiveness of messages
and campaigns, and refine and develop messages as necessary.

 

Goal III: Improve recruitment and retention efforts

Objective 1: Ensure that adequate agency attention is being devoted to recruitment
and retention activities.

Strategies to achieve this:
•
Consider a full-time recruitment and retention coordinator.
•
Consider assistance from outside public relations and advertising firms.
•
Conduct regular follow-up on recruitment and retention efforts to determine what
works and what doesn’t.

 

Objective 2: Maximize partnerships with other agencies and organizations.

Strategies to achieve this:
•
Create new and expand existing freshwater fishing programs and events for youth.
•
Base outreach and educational programs for youth on the principals of cognitive
development.
•
Create new and expand existing freshwater fishing programs and events for women
and minorities.
•
Use marketing and promotional tools from partners to expand promotional outreach.

 

Objective 3: Recruit and retain anglers through a variety of media outlets.

Strategies to achieve this:
•
Advertise and promote fishing participation through traditional media including newspapers,
radio, and television.
•
Advertise and promote fishing participation through non-traditional media, including social
networking tools.
•
Educate anglers and the general public on where money from license sales goes.

 

Objective 4: Whenever possible, continue proven methods of recruitment and retention.

Strategies to achieve this:
•
Engage a lapsed angler direct mail campaign.
•
Continue youth fishing programs, tournaments, and mentoring programs
•
Continue to promote fishing participation in schools as an environmental education tool.
•
Track the progress of continuing efforts to determine long-term efficacy over multiple years.

 

Goal IV: Optimise use of licence records and related data

etc….
OK?  Now you understand their difficulties.  All the marketing strategies are explained but nothing on how they can achieve their goals.  Nothing at all about promotion…