Sportfishing Industry Association’s Board of Directors Names New President

Hughes was hired in November 2013 to oversee the trade show, membership and marketing and communications efforts.

“On behalf of the board of directors and ASA’s members and staff, I’m pleased to say that it was a unanimous vote to hire Glenn as ASA’s next President,” said ASA’s board of directors Chairman, Kirk Immens, President of Sportco Marketing, Inc. “Over the past four years, Glenn has demonstrated that he has the skills and abilities required to lead our association. Glenn brought a strong industry background to ASA and is now very familiar with how our trade association functions which makes him uniquely qualified to address the economic and environmental issues that are impacting our industry.”

“The board of directors has made an excellent selection,” said ASA’s President and CEO Mike Nussman. “From fisheries management to excise taxes to access to our nation’s public lands and waters, for more than eight decades, ASA has worked to ensure that our industry’s voice is heard when decisions are being made. With his passion for the sport and his industry background, Glenn is the right guy to lead the association forward.”

Last week, Nussman announced that he will retire as ASA’s President and CEO effective March 31, 2018.

“I am honored that I was selected for this position,” said Hughes. “I pledge do my very best to serve the sportfishing fishing industry and the broader recreational fishing community in my new role as ASA’s President. Fishing has brought so much joy to my life and I will do my best to help the association improve our nation’s fisheries, increase participation in our sport and increase the bottom line for our members.”

Hughes further said, “Because of our relationships, the power of the industry and the size of our fishing audience, we deliver a powerful punch on Capitol Hill and around the country. We need reasonable and thoughtful rules and regulations that allow us to do business in the U.S. We also want clean water, sustainable fisheries and access to those fish.” Hughes grew up fishing the lakes of Pennsylvania and along the Jersey Shore. He also lived for more than two decades in Florida honing his fishing skills in coastal waters all along the U.S. coastline as well as in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Hughes concluded, “Mike Nussman and I have known each other for more than 20 years. Over that time, he came to know my enthusiasm for and dedication to the industry and the association. I’m committed to ensuring that the confidence that the board of directors and Mike have in me as the association’s next President is well-founded. With guidance from the industry’s leaders, I am certainly up to the challenge.”

The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry’s trade association committed to representing the interests of the sportfishing and boating industries as well as the entire sportfishing community. We give the industry and anglers a unified voice when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. ASA invests in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous, as well as safeguard and promote the enduring economic, conservation and social values of sportfishing in America. ASA also gives America’s 46 million anglers a voice in policy decisions that affect their ability to sustainably fish on our nation’s waterways through Keep America Fishing®, our national angler advocacy campaign. America’s anglers generate more than $48 billion in retail sales with a $115 billion impact on the nation’s economy creating employment for more than 828,000 people.