Commercial Fishing Value Doubles Recreational Sector
by Laine Welch
The debate over which sector — commercial or recreational fishing — provides the bigger economic punch can finally be put to rest.
The annual “Fisheries Economics of the U.S.” report by the Department of Commerce shows once and for all that in terms of values, jobs, sales and incomes, the commercial sector far outscores recreational fishing. A breakdown of the extensive report by market analyst John Sackton shows that in 2012, commercial fishing had $140 billion in sales compared to $58 billion for sport fishing. And for the value contributed to the national economy, commercial fishing added nearly $60 billion — double the recreational sector.
In terms of jobs, the seafood industry employed 1.27 million people compared to 380,000 for sports anglers. The most striking difference, Sackton said, is where those people are employed. For sport fishing, employment was building boats and engines, representing 82 percent of both employment and sales and is very regionally concentrated. The NOAA report added that less than 20 percent of the jobs in the sport industry come from guides, boat operators, tackle shops and various rentals.
For the commercial fishing industry, the value and jobs created are spread throughout the entire country. The recreational sector is concentrated in a few states and industries. For example, Florida accounted for 30 percent of all U.S. recreational fishing jobs. Add the Gulf States and North Carolina, and the number jumps to nearly half the national total.
The economic benefits of the commercial seafood sector also penetrate all parts of the U.S. and the economy. Unlike his sport counterparts, a fisherman in Alaska is supporting dozens of other U.S. jobs in retail, wholesale, distribution and import sectors. In short, the facts negate the argument that recreational fishing has a greater or more direct economic impact than the commercial fishery.
The economics report also breaks down information by region. In terms of prices, the report shows that of 10 key U.S. species, sea scallops, Pacific halibut and sablefish received the highest ex-vessel (dock) prices in 2012 at $9.83, $4.48 and $3.42 per pound, respectively.
Menhaden and pollock had the lowest ex-vessel prices in 2012 at $0.07 and $0.12 per pound. However, landings of both species were the largest in the U.S. at 1.77 billion pounds of menhaden and 2.87 billion pounds of pollock. Find a link to the ‘Fisheries Economics of the U.S. report at www.alaskafishradio.com.
Get your gear on
The call is out for entries in the international Smart Gear competition. The contest, which began in 2005 by the World Wildlife Fund, rewards new gear ideas that help fishermen retain target catches while letting marine mammals, turtles, birds or small fish swim away.
This year’s competition offers the largest prize pool ever, said program director, Michael Osmond in a phone interview.
“There is a $30,000 grand prize, two $10,000 runner-up prizes, and we have two $7,500 that we call special bycatch prizes,” Osmond said. “One of them is a tuna bycatch reduction prize, and the other is a marine mammal bycatch reduction prize.”
The competition goes beyond cash prizes, he added.
“The second step is to get those ideas to the stage where they can actually be used by industry, and doing the job they were designed to do,” he said.
WWWF and its partners continue working with gear innovators and — to date — almost 50 percent of the winning ideas from the competition are now out on the water. That includes the 2011winners: Japan’s double-weight branchline that prevents seabird bycatch; Florida’s “Seaqualizer” that lets fish with air bladders be safely returned to deep water; and California’s simple LED lights or glow sticks that keep turtles away from gillnets.
Osmond said 60 to 70 percent of the gear entries come from fishermen — as do the majority of winning ideas. The 2011 competition attracted 74 entries from a record 31 countries. Osmond said Alaska is always in the mix with three or four entries.
“We haven’t yet had a winning idea from Alaska,” he said, “but this year is just as good a chance as any.”
Deadline to enter the Smart Gear contest is Aug. 31. Go to www.smartgear.org
Pollock opp flop
It’s the peak time of the year for jig fishing for cod, and 60 boats have landed more than 1.5 million pounds of a nearly 6-million-pound quota. At the same time, jiggers can keep as much pollock as they catch. But so far it hasn’t been much of a draw.
“No one seems to be taking advantage of the pollock jig fishery in the sense that they are going out and targeting pollock,” said Matt Keyse, a regional manager at Fish and Game in Kodiak.
So far, 15,000 pounds of pollock was delivered by jig boats. Keyes said that’s about average.
“Every year, jig cod boats tend to land between 20-30,000 pounds of pollock,” he added. “I expect we’ll be in that same range if things remain the same.”
The jig cod price at Kodiak is 35 cents a pound; pollock is closer to 13 cents. A dozen seiners signed up for the first-ever pollock fishery and Keyse said he’s just waiting for the boats to show.
“At this point, we are waiting for someone to approach us and say they are ready to go,” Keyes said.
The Kodiak salmon season begins on June 9. Keyes said there won’t be conflicting seine gear in the water.
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