Friday, April 02, 2010

Economic value of sport fishing

Sport fishing can be a real economic engine for local economies. As much as you and I probably already know this, we still have to beat government agencies about the head with data because the only day to day numbers they will see are from fish landings at fish houses. They see those numbers and assume that this is the true value of a fishery. Whereas the real money comes from angling and it's associated costs such as guide trips, restaurants, gas stations, grocery store visits (for mid day noms) and lastly (but especially not leastly) hotel rooms. In a thriving recreational fishery these types of things drive the economy (just go to the Florida Keys if you want to see for yourself). Check out the new numbers from the Bahamas.

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