Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Last week I received a notice from NMFS informing me that; “Starting May 15, NOAA will begin conducting a periodic survey of saltwater anglers across the nation designed to estimate the amount of money spent by anglers on saltwater fishing trips and fishing-related equipment.” My reaction to the notice was twofold, the first being, “Oh-boy, after spending a big chunk of the winter filling-out forms and applications for all the licenses, permits, and other hoops I have to jump through just to go fishing this season - here we go again with more paperwork!”
At the same time, I just couldn’t help but think of all the fishermen I know who will take this news with a lot more distain than I. It doesn’t matter if it’s voluntary or not, a lot of folks just can’t stand the thought of being asked to give up any kind of personal information of any kind, let alone details about critically important and highly confidential activities such as fishing! Why does “Big Brother” need to know what I spend on minnows or how many hooks I use?
According to NOAA, “The information gathered in the survey will provide a better understanding of the economic impacts generated from saltwater recreational fishing across the U.S. and contribute to more informed decisions on recreational fishing issues. NOAA and the saltwater angling community need timely economic data to help evaluate the economic importance of the recreational fishing industry and the economic impacts of fishing regulations and changes in the ecosystem caused by natural or manmade events.”
So NOAA wants more details about what anglers spend to do what they do, so that they (NOAA) can do a better job of managing our nations fisheries. I don’t think anyone will argue with the need for better fishery management, but it sort of hits home when someone asks you to fill out a seven page questionnaire!
After at least three decades of being involved in fishery management issues, either as an advisor, a representative or just a member of the public willing to sit in on meetings and provide comments and recommendations, it has become painfully clear to me that, like it or not, economic impact is a huge facet of fishery management. In a perfect world, fishery managers could set rules and regulations solely on the premise of what’s best for the fish, but of course rules means government, and government means politicians. The resulting process can tend to divert actions away from what’s best for the fish to what’s best for the people with the loudest voice and/or the most money.
Since fishery managers are required to take the economic impact of their actions into account before implementing new regulations or management plans, it’s important that anyone who is affected by changes in a fishery stand-up and be counted. Otherwise, potentially negative financial consequences might be overlooked as the plans are drawn up, leaving an unnecessary burden on some folks.
For a long time, the economic impact of recreational anglers played a very small role in fishery management and any considerations for the economics of fishing were directed at the commercial fisheries. Back then, they were the “fishing industry” while we were just a bunch of folks who where out to have a good time catching a few fish on the weekends.
That’s all changed, and now as fishery managers and perhaps most importantly, “politicians” have come to realize, recreational fishermen are indeed a force to be reckoned with. Word is getting out that there are a lot of us, we spend a lot of money and a lot of businesses and communities prosper both directly and indirectly from the money spent by the millions of folks who get out of bed each morning with the intention of catching a fish that day.
Although we might not want to think about it, we fishermen know that we spend a lot of money in our pursuits, but what’s most important is that we make sure that both the non-fishing population is aware of the economic impact we make and that our elected officials know that we spend a lot of money in our communities. Some communities don’t need to be reminded of the positive impacts made by recreational anglers and they embrace fishing as a boon to their economy and promote the heck out of the thrills that await anglers who fish their local waters. Florida is so big on promoting their fishing opportunities that it’s tough to watch a sportsman’s channel without being bombarded with commercials inviting anglers to “come on down and fish Florida.”
That doesn’t seem to be the case here on the Delmarva coastline where the spotlight seems to so often shine brightest on the beach, boardwalk, hotels, restaurants and golf courses. For the most part, Delmarva fishing is promoted by those directly involved in the fishing industry, such as tackle shops, charter and head boats, marinas, tournaments and specific fishing productions and publications. Fishing opportunities draws people to the coast, and while they’re there they stay in hotels, eat in restaurants, shop in the outlets and buy gas for their cars. But apparently the memo didn’t get out to enough non-fishing related businesses that they ought to be courting the heck out of the fishing public because there are a lot of anglers and they spend a lot of money!
I just throw all that out there so that if anyone reading it happens to be selected for the economic survey that they will understand that even though filling it out might seem like a bit of an unnecessary pain in the butt, the results will provide marine managers and maybe even some of our political leaders something to consider when they are making decisions that affect recreational fishermen either directly or indirectly, and the numbers might also help to open the eyes of coastal business owners and community leaders, helping them to understand how valuable the angling community is to our local economy. Everyone wants to be recognized and appreciated for the good things they do; for fishermen, the saltwater angling survey might be a step in that direction.
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
