Captain Experiences, a fishing and hunting guide reservation platform, recently released a new report looking at the top U.S. states for fishing tourism. The report found that North Carolina ranks 8th in the analysis.
In most cases, travelers must obtain a non-resident fishing license to go fishing out-of-state. From the late 1960s through the 1980s, the share of annual state fishing licenses held by non-residents remained steady at 15% or less each year. However, since the 1990s, that figure has increased: after a brief decline due to COVID-19, the proportion of licenses held by non-residents spiked to a record-setting 22.3% in 2022, or nearly 9.4 million total.
This rise in non-resident licenses not only represents steady growth in the fishing tourism industry, but also a boon for wildlife conservation and management. Licenses are usually sold by the state’s wildlife department, and the revenue provides funding for conservation and wildlife restoration programs. Additionally, like other forms of tourism, travelers from out of state support fishing destinations’ economies by patronizing local businesses: in 2022, recreational fishing directly and indirectly supported more than 690,000 jobs and generated nearly $138 billion in local business sales across the country.
To determine the most popular fishing travel destinations in the U.S., researchers calculated the number of fishing licenses, tags, permits, and stamps held by out-of-state residents in each state, then ranked them accordingly. The latest licensing data is for apportionment year 2024, which reflects license sales that occurred in 2022.
Here are the key takeaways from the report for North Carolina:
- During the study period, North Carolina generated $6,324,127 in annual fishing license revenue from non-residents.
- This accounted for 22.1% of the state’s fishing license revenue that year.
- In total, North Carolina issued 275,808 annual fishing licenses to non-residents in 2022, the 8th most of any U.S. state.
To review the complete results of the analysis featuring data on all 50 U.S. states, click here.
| State | Rank | Annual fishing licenses issued to non-residents | Annual fishing license revenue from non-residents | Share of annual fishing licenses issued to non-residents | Share of annual fishing license revenue from non-residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 1 | 917,665 | $25,753,980 | 36.8% | 54.4% |
| Montana | 2 | 739,575 | $16,647,712 | 50.0% | 72.5% |
| Colorado | 3 | 511,912 | $12,335,290 | 38.9% | 41.2% |
| Alaska | 4 | 492,860 | $15,817,365 | 70.8% | 75.6% |
| Wisconsin | 5 | 448,237 | $12,146,592 | 25.3% | 35.1% |
| Tennessee | 6 | 388,475 | $13,353,929 | 23.5% | 30.6% |
| Minnesota | 7 | 377,439 | $13,376,465 | 23.6% | 34.8% |
| North Carolina | 8 | 275,808 | $6,324,127 | 29.3% | 22.1% |
| Michigan | 9 | 252,180 | $9,275,692 | 21.2% | 31.1% |
| Idaho | 10 | 247,744 | $10,241,245 | 28.0% | 55.8% |
| Wyoming | 11 | 231,511 | $6,617,055 | 71.5% | 77.1% |
| South Carolina | 12 | 230,871 | $2,321,338 | 28.6% | 36.5% |
| New Mexico | 13 | 229,300 | $2,786,201 | 29.9% | 33.4% |
| Georgia | 14 | 221,189 | $3,318,536 | 13.8% | 21.1% |
| Oregon | 15 | 217,658 | $8,614,226 | 22.1% | 25.7% |
| United States | – | 9,361,275 | $263,382,669 | 22.3% | 29.3% |