Recreational Fishing

Overview
Mike Leonard, Conservation Director
American Sportfishing Association

Sustainable Fishing and Health of the Oceans Program

Tampa, Florida
July 11, 2018
About ASA
 Sportfishing Industry’s Trade Association
 Manufacturers
 Wholesalers

 Retailers

 Media

 Founded in 1933
 Based in Alexandria, VA
 Government Affairs Activities
 Focus on Natural Resource Issues
 Conservation
 Access
 More fish = more anglers = more sales
 “You don’t get milk unless you feed the cow.”
 Through the Sport Fish Restoration Program, more than $9
billion distributed to states for fishery conservation and public
access
 Average annual return on investment = 2,157%*
*Andrew Loftus Consulting and Southwick Associates. “The Financial Returns and Benefits of Hunting and Fishing Excise Taxes.” February, 2011.
Outline
 What is recreational fishing all about?
 Freshwater vs. saltwater
 Landscape of saltwater fisheries
 Challenges with federal fisheries
management
 Other priorities
Outline
 What is recreational fishing all about?
 Freshwater vs. saltwater
 Landscape of saltwater fisheries
 Challenges with federal fisheries
management
 Other priorities
 How Many Anglers Are There?

49 million
60 million will
anglers/year fish at least once
- 35.8 million in a 5-year
over 16 years period
old

Source: Southwick Associates

 Recreational Fishing Economics
 828,000 jobs
 $115 billion economic impact
 Contribute $1.5 billion annually to
conservation
 License fees
 Excise taxes

 Direct contributions

Source: Southwick Associates

 Average Fishing Trip = $103.84
Other Miscellaneous Fishing
Expenses (e.g., books and
magazines, taxidermy)
$11.03

Travel
Expenditures
Special $47.44
Equipment for
Fishing (e.g.,
pick-ups, boats,
canoes)
$29.79

Auxiliary
Purchases for
Fishing (e.g.,
fishing clothing, Fishing Equipment
binoculars) Expenditures
$2.21 $13.37

Source: Southwick Associates

 What Motivates Anglers to Fish?
1. For the sport, recreation, relaxation or
fun (70%)
2. For the food / fresh fish to eat (32%)
3. To be with family and friends (20%)
4. To be close to nature (12%)
5. For a trophy (1%)
Source: American Sportfishing Association / Responsive Management / the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife / Southwick Associates. 2013. Exploring
Recent Increases in Hunting and Fishing Participation.
Outline
 What is recreational fishing all about?
 Freshwater vs. saltwater
 Landscape of saltwater fisheries
 Challenges with federal fisheries
management
 Other priorities
 35.8 million U.S. anglers
(16+ years old):

3.1 million
(10%)
8.3 million
5.2 million saltwater
(17%)
anglers
30.1 million
(73%)

Source: Southwick Associates

Saltwater Recreational Fishing
Trips by Mode For-Hire
4,137,000
(6.7%)

Shore
27,694,000
(45.5%)

Private Boat
29,115,000
(47.8%)

Source: National Marine Fisheries Service. 2017. Fisheries Economics of the United States, 2015. U.S. Dept. of
Commerce, NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-F/SPO-170, 247p.
 Average Fishing Trip Expenditures
$200.00
$186.31
$180.00

$160.00

$140.00

$120.00
$103.84
$100.00 $92.22

$80.00

$60.00

$40.00

$20.00

$0.00
All Fishing Freshwater Saltwater
Source: National Marine Fisheries Service. 2017. Fisheries Economics of the United States, 2015. U.S. Dept. of Commerce,
NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-F/SPO-170, 247p.
Freshwater
 State management
 Fishing licenses
 Excise taxes
 Minimal commercial
fishing
Freshwater Saltwater
 State management  Federal management
 No direct $ relationship
 Fishing licenses
 Excise taxes  Lots of commercial fishing
 Heavy environmental
 Minimal commercial influence
fishing
Outline
 What is recreational fishing all about?
 Freshwater vs. saltwater
 Landscape of saltwater fisheries
 Challenges with federal fisheries
management
 Other priorities
Overfishing at all-time low
 Pounds Harvested
9,000,000,000 97.9%
8,000,000,000
7,000,000,000
6,000,000,000
5,000,000,000
4,000,000,000
3,000,000,000
2,000,000,000
1,000,000,000
2.1%
0
Commercial (Finfish Only) Recreational
Source: National Marine Fisheries Service (2017) Fisheries of the United States, 2016. U.S. Department of Commerce,
NOAA Current Fishery Statistics No. 2016.
 Jobs Supported
800,000
695,794
700,000

600,000

500,000 439,242
400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

0
Commercial (Without Imports) Recreational
Source: National Marine Fisheries Service. 2017. Fisheries Economics of the United States, 2015. U.S. Dept. of Commerce,
NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-F/SPO-170, 247p.
Outline
 What is recreational fishing all about?
 Freshwater vs. saltwater
 Landscape of saltwater fisheries
 Challenges with federal fisheries
management
 Other priorities
Magnuson-Stevens Act
Requirements
Requires annual catch limits and
accountability measures in federal fisheries to
end and prevent overfishing. If catch of a stock
is approaching or exceeding its annual catch
limit, fishery managers use accountability
measures to ensure the limit is not exceeded or
correct for any overage
Stock Assessments
 500+ federally managed fisheries
 185 stock assessments annually
 Cobia -> 2011
 Triggerfish -> 2013
 Amberjack -> 2015
 South Atlantic & Gulf of Mexico:
 ~7 assessments/yr combined
 75 species in South Atlantic
 44 species in the Gulf of Mexico
Marine Recreational Information
Program (MRIP)
 Coastal Household Telephone Survey
 Mail-Based Survey
 “In the four states covered in the pilot study,
mail survey estimates of total effort were 2-6
times higher than Coastal Household
Telephone Survey (CHTS) estimates.”
 Lack of Trust in the Feds

Atlantic Cobia
 2016 closure prompted
by unexpected overage
 Outcry from anglers
 Management now
being transferred to
states
 Trust in the States
Texas spotted seatrout
 Reduced bag limit from 10
fish to 5
 Declines were seen in
fishery, but not
overfished/overfishing
 Anglers were supportive
“We’re never going to be able to count every
fish, and we’re not going to get to a situation
where we get annual stock assessments with
recruitment indices… at some point, we’ve got
recognize that the management regime has to
be brought in line with the science we’re willing
to pay for, and I think that’s fundamentally one of
our problems now, and I think it’s why we hear
from fishermen, quite often, that your
management doesn’t match what I’m seeing on
the water.”
– Dr. Roy Crabtree, South Atlantic Council
meeting, Sept. 25, 2017
What Do We Do About It?
 Admit there is a problem
 “Alternative management approaches”
 Mid-Atlantic summer flounder
 S.A. red snapper

 Get better data

Outline
 What is recreational fishing all about?
 Freshwater vs. saltwater
 Landscape of saltwater fisheries
 Challenges with federal fisheries
management
 Other priorities
Other Key Issues
 Marine Protected Areas
 Habitat restoration
 Improving survival of caught-and-
released fish
 Forage fish conservation
 Invasive species (e.g., lionfish)
 Water for fish
Take Home Points
1. The recreational fishing community is
large and diverse, and economically
and socially important to the nation
2. Freshwater fisheries management is
largely figured out, but saltwater
(particularly federal) is still challenging
3. Anglers are leading conservationists