The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association (NSIA) board of directors unanimously elected Trey Carskadon President. Carskadon, a 41 year veteran of the sportfishing industry, has worked in all phases of the industry.
“My work in the industry started as an outdoor writer in the late 70’s but it was when I graduated from college in the early 80’s that I went to work fulltime working behind a tackle counter in 1982”, Carskadon shared. “From there I worked as a guide, fished tournaments and stayed in retail moving onto the boat side of the business in 1986. That opened a lot of doors for me and by the early 90’s my role had changed from managing stores to marketing. My break came when Page Stevens hired me as his marketing director for his boat dealerships and boat manufacturing company, Alumaweld Boats. We started an advertising/marketing agency which represented a number fishing and boating related interests along with some government affairs work. That agency outgrew itself and merged with another agency that represented more than 20 top fishing and boating industry brands. After 17 years of agency work I made the decision to go back to in-house work and hung my hat at O’Loughlin Trade Shows, the producers of The Sport Shows, Portland Boat Show and RV shows. All of the shows we produce are amazing and it’s a perfect fit for my experience and passion for this business and its people. It’s been quite a ride and I feel so fortunate to have worked with so many talented passionate anglers in this business.”
Carskadon has served in several roles with NSIA. He’s been on the board since 2000, served as President for a year and then became the Association’s Oregon lobbyist. He’s also a past Chair and Board Member on the Oregon State Marine Board, an appointment that comes from the Governor’s office.
“NSIA is at a pivotal point in its 30 year history. We’ll be working to grow the Association and its mission. In the near-term, NSIA, under the guidance of our Executive Director, Liz Hamilton, is fully engaged in one of the nation’s leading sportfishing initiatives. That is, the removal of the lower four dams on the Snake River. It’s a huge undertaking, that as an Association, we have been working since the mid-90’s. Success means billions of dollars of economic benefit to the Pacific Northwest. Removal of these dams, based on decades of scientific analysis, means our worst return years for Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead will be on par with our best return years right now. Those ‘best’ years delivered historic high returns. The impact of this initiative will be realized from Riggins Idaho into Southeast Alaska and all points in-between.”
“Longer term, is to fully fund the Association so we can expand our policy and advocacy footprint and work in Oregon and Washington with additional lobbyists and policy professionals. Sportfishing in the Northwest means business and we have more than 36,000 people who make their fulltime living in this regional industry who are depending on us to represent them in a way that improves their business and delivers increased certainty for the future.”
“Liz Hamilton and I have been working on Northwest sportfishing issues since the 80’s and we’re both looking forward to evolving the Association in a way that serves the interests of everyone in the regional sportfishing industry. It’s an opportune time for this growth and Liz has done a brilliant job of laying essential legislative and policy groundwork for us to follow. With her experience and the collective vision of the board we expect to see rapid change over the next year.”
In addition to Carskadon’s professional experience in the sportfishing industry has been his more than 20 years on the media-side of the business. Trey spent 10 years as the host of the nationally broadcast TV show, America’s Outdoor Journal”, that aired on the Outdoor Channel and 11 years in radio as a co-host of “Inside The Outdoors” and the “Northwest Outdoors Report.”
“I couldn’t be more excited at this point in my career to lead the Association. We need to bring younger voices to the table, hit the road and listen to business owners and understand their challenges, engage in business policy that benefits the industry and continue the work that has made NSIA the most compelling and effective voice in Northwest sportfishing issues these past 30 years.”
Liz Hamilton added, “NSIA’s success with regional and national decision makers has been grounded in the guidance of industry leaders such as Trey. If we take care of the fish, we take care of the industry. Whether NSIA works on hatcheries, harvest, habitat or hydro, we are guided by the best science and economics as a reliable and credible non-partisan resource. Few in or out of the industry have invested more time protecting sportfishing than Trey, and I’m grateful for his partnership during these exciting times.”
The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association was founded in 1993 and represents the sportfishing industry’s political interests in the Pacific Northwest. The litany of successful legislative accomplishments brokered by NSIA has extended Northwest sportfishing seasons for salmon and steelhead, grown hatchery production for Northwest salmon and steelhead and been an effective voice in government, at the state and federal level, for the Northwest sportfishing industry. For detailed information on the NSIA visit: www.nsiafishing.org.
