Hunting and fishing are on the rise for the first time in decades.

While hunting has always been a way for self-sufficient people to feed their families in a poor economy, another theory for its current popularity is that it can also be an affordable "staycation" for people trying to spend less on their vacations.

Steven Rinella, host of "Meat Eater" on the Sportsman Channel and the author of a just released hunting tome of the same name, says there's more to it. As an increasing number of Americans become interested in where their food comes from and want to play a part in making it, Rinella says that many are newly compelled to try killing their own meat.

"I think it's a cultural sense of people losing connection to the land and to their food, and they're looking to rekindle their fires of passion for self-sufficiency," says Rinella. "Over the last couple of years I've taken a number of celebrities out on their first hunts. I've taken out dozens of friends and family and friends of friends. And I can assure you that none of them were unemployed."

The number of recreational hunters and anglers in the United States has increased significantly over the past five years, according to a recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey. The number of hunters has increased by 9%, while the number of anglers has increased by 11%.

Read - Hunters return to the land

Previously - Why hunting your own dinner is an ethical way to eat