Value of Recreational Sportfishery

[searun]

I had these interesting facts passed along regarding the value added benefit of the recreational sport fishery:


Direct B. C. expenditures Salt water 770 million dollars annually. Freshwater #'s pending but they normally equal salt water

License sales annual 347,956 fresh water with 61,000 non resident. Saltwater 260,379 with 63,000 non resident

Average Canadian angler spends 13 days fishing. Pre dominance of Lodge guests now Canadian

70 to 80 % of salmon & steelhead in US Pacific Northwest are of hatchery
origin.

Kind of makes you think about the massive economic impetus the recreational fishery creates, not to mention the untold social benefits. This also attacks some myths that are often floating out there that lodge guests are usually not Canadian. Lastly, also demonstrates the huge contribution hatchery programs make to our fisheries.

 

[DHA]

DFO has asked for a story of our value of our sport fishery for many years...my best synopsis would be to state, that we have a long and arduous tole to hoe. Asking the value of our sport-fishery is nothing at all simple and is less than accomplished or varied in the sense that dfo will acknowledge...

DHA.

 

[searun]

Yes, I like to look at it as an investment in your economy. Hatcheries have contributed to generating untold recreational fishing opportunities, which drives tourism and consumer spending. It is an economic engine that has been poorly managed and understood by politicians and bureaucrats for decades. That said, I think we need to be pressing this issue otherwise it will be easy for them to simply shut down more hatcheries and miss the point of why we need to build a strong fishery.

 

[finaddict]

Hey Pat,

Where did you get those economic figures from? Would love to read the entire report

Cheers

 

[searun]

The SFI provided them, and it was passed along to me...Nice boat there Steve...When will we see it plying our waters this summer.

 

[finaddict]

The SFI provided them, and it was passed along to me...Nice boat there Steve...When will we see it plying our waters this summer.

Thanks Pat, I had it on the island from May to September this year and did several trips to WCVI fom Kyuquot to Ukee. I have a place over there now so I keep it there all summer and back on the dark side here for the winter months. Gotta do a better job of co-ordinating with you in 2012 and put together a trip. I have only fished nootka once and its been decades since I fished Tofino, so both of those are possibilities this year.

Cheers

 

[Charter Tofino]

It varies on the source but the aquaculture industry has been valued at 800 million in BC and growing. I would assume that includes shellfish production. Interesting that its now more than the sport fishery.

 

[xavier]

Unfortunately, these studies are all flawed because if you follow the money, they are always skewed towards whomever pays for them. Unfortunately an independent body needs to make the evaluation and while I am not anti-government, when it comes to fisheries they have demonstrated a clear bias and are therefore not independent on the matter either. A valuation of the different fisheries and industries should be a mandate of the next commission that get's set-up/struck.

 

[GLG]

It varies on the source but the aquaculture industry has been valued at 800 million in BC and growing. I would assume that includes shellfish production. Interesting that its now more than the sport fishery.

Hey Kelly you may want to minus 50 million a year off that number.
That is how much this industry gets from the federal government to promote it self.
Not sure how much the BC government gives them each year, but it's got to be lots.
Heard that a UBC paper calculated that for every 22 dollars they got from the fed they paid back 1 dollar in tax.
Only a politician and a Norwegian fish farm could like that kind of deal.
GLG

 

[Jockey]

GLG it doesn't end there.

How much money do you think the provincial government gets per tree that is taken from our forest? $0.25 per cubic meter which is about $0.25 per telephone pole.

This is why the USA is so pissed about softwood lumber our province under values our resources just to create jobs. Once again it takes the americans to point out our system is flawed. Much like the fishing.

It doesn't end there. I don't know the actual numbers but my friend who is somewhat high up in the provincial government doing finance told me we actually pay big oil companys to take our gas from up north. Thats right we hand out more money in rebates to the companys taking the gas than we actually make off it. Oil prices are lower so instead of stopping the subsidies or waiting until the price increases to harvest it our government PAYS big oil to take it out of the ground and refine it. Why? Once again it's all in the name of jobs.

Such a joke. Fish farms are not going away they are in the pockets of many areas of government and they use "jobs" as an excuse to do what they do.

 

[searun]

The other point to consider is the sport fishery doesn't require subsidization in the form of tax incentives, EI programs, and government funded marketing campaigns to generate that same revenue...and further we don't need to jeopardize wild salmon by mixing in foreign species into polluting disease producing net pens. Just think about the kind of economic benefit Canada could realize with greater effort to ensure we have super strong salmon and halibut runs!!