The Haves and Have-Nots of Fishing?

John Whitehead, over at Environmental Economics, has a post talking about the decline in recreational fishing licenses in North Carolina. He cites an article claiming a 40% decline in license sales. This is interesting since Tuesday, I had a post that claimed for-hire boats had experienced a 30% decline in business. Although I am not looking directly at primary source data, I assume that changes in gas prices and a slower economy are impacting lower income fishermen more than high income fishermen. This may mean a larger decline in certain types of fishing modes. John cites some other factors that may also be impacting license numbers (lower stock numbers for some species, more access limitations on Outer Banks).