Current and Projected Tourist Demand for Saltwater Recreational Fisheries in Florida

Bell, Frederick

This report is a companion publication to SGR-112, “A Regional Analysis of Current and Future Florida Resident Participation in Marine Recreational Fishing.” INTRODUCTION The central purpose of this report is to estimate the current and projected demand by tourists visiting Florida for saltwater recreational fisheries. This report is both an update of the Bell et al (1982) study conducted in 1981 and an extension of this work to a forecast of the demand pressures likely to occur on Florida's coastal fisheries. Such fishing pressure has caused concern for the fishery resource and the commercial and recreational fishing industries that depend on this resource… In 1981, Bell et al (1982) reported that 9.67 percent of all tourists over 18 years of age participated in saltwater recreational fishing in Florida over the last 12 months. This translated into 3 million tourist anglers expending 16.4 million saltwater fishing days in Florida over a decade ago. A decade ago, approximately three-quarters of a billion dollars was directly spent by saltwater tourist anglers in Florida, not including durable goods such as boats and motors. Almost 23,000 jobs at the retail level were directly tied to nondurable expenditures in 1981 according to Bell et al (1982). These historical figures are driven by independent estimates by the Florida Division of Tourism of the number of visitors arriving in Florida. Some felt that because of flaws in statistical design the number of tourists was considerably overestimated, perhaps by 50 percent. 1 Because of these difficulties the reader is warned against historical comparison of newly developed data in this report with the 1980-81 study. This study will be forward looking in terms of the growth in tourist angler demand over the next two decades from a 1991 base year. Also, this report will be restricted to the primary economic impact of tourist anglers. The multiplier impact (i.e., indirect) is beyond the scope of this report. Despite the economic size of the tourist segment of the recreational fishing industry in Florida, not enough is known about the critical variables that influence participation in saltwater angling. It is hypothesized that the saltwater angling participation rate for tourists visiting Florida can be explained by socioeconomic characteristics (e.g., age). Such a participation function can be used to project the number of tourist saltwater anglers and days fished by modes to the year 2010 plus evaluate the implications for fishery management (e.g., bag limits, closures, etc.). Such forecasts will enable us to project State revenue from the sale of saltwater fishing licenses to nonresidents (tourists) so as to enhance planning for fishery programs. In conducting this analysis, an independent check on the degree of compliance with the requirements that certain individuals from out-of-state purchase a saltwater fishing license will also be made. The purpose here is to identify lost revenue due to lack of enforcement and or lack of knowledge of the license requirement by the tourist. Fishing license revenue is important to the enhancement of fishery stocks (e.g., hatcheries, artificial wetlands, etc.) and the support of the Florida Marine Patrol.

Current and Projected Tourist Demand for Saltwater Recreational Fisheries in Florida

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