2012 USA Recreational Fishing Statistics

Approximately 9.4 million recreational saltwater anglers in the USA took over 70 million saltwater fishing trips in 2012, according to a NOAA Fisheries report entitled: “Fisheries of the United States 2012.”

During 2012, U.S. anglers caught 380 million fish. During the same period, fishermen released approximately 63 percent of their catch alive while harvesting approximately 140 million fish weighing over 203 million pounds.

Spotted seatrout was the top catch for recreational anglers, with 42.6 million fish caught in 2012. Atlantic croaker, black sea bass, summer flounder and red drum were the other most common catches for saltwater anglers.

source: NOAA Fisheries