Hunting, fishing licenses sales remain down

Published 9:10 am Sunday, June 22, 2025

: MDWFP PHOTO IMAGE

JACKSON — License sales remain down in Fiscal Year 2025 for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Jason Thompson, Director of Administrative Services, gave the most recent update at a MDWFP Commission meeting on June 19th.

From the start of Fiscal Year 2025, license sales were below FY2024 totals. Thompson told the commission back in August 2024 they were $23,000 below the previous fiscal year. By October 2024, the agency had $260,000 less revenue than the previous fiscal year. The revenue gap closed as deer season went a long but has started to widen as Fiscal Year 2025 draws to an end.

“As of June 1, 2025, we have generated $19.6 million in revenue compared to $20.2 million the previous fiscal year, which is a three percent decrease,” Thompson said. “Non-resident license sales were down to $11.2 million compared to $11.5 million the previous year. Non-resident Wildlife Management Area permits were up three percent.”

Thompson said they will utilize text messaging to remind customers about license renewals.

He moved on from license revenue to inform commissioners about the ongoing transition with a new license sales vendor. PayIt took over the license sales system in February 2025. Thompson said there had been some bugs but nothing different than what has happened in the past with changes in point-of-sale systems.

“PayIt will do an update next week, it will correct some issues and help us tremendously,” Thompson said. “They will have staff here to make sure the update works.”

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It should be noted that license sales do tend to fluctuate from year-to-year but there is a long term decline according to data published by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Mississippi hunting licenses peaked in 1977 with 339,210 holders. In 2025, there were 273,972 license holders.

A similar decline can be seen in fishing license sales in Mississippi. According to the USFWS, Mississippi fishing licenses peaked in 1989 with 480,412 holders. In 2025, there were 324,673 holders.

To learn more about licenses and permits visit MDWFP.com.