THE VALUE OF LARGEMOUTH BASS
TO FLORIDA'S ECONOMY
Compiled by: Bob Wattendorf
- Although expenditures are a useful indicator of the importance of sport fishing activities to businesses, local, regional, state and national economies, they do not measure the economic benefit to individual participants, nor do they touch on the true recreational benefits that enliven the soul, and help people escape the stresses of everyday life and to reconnect with nature, family and friends.
- Freshwater sportfishing in Florida provided recreational
opportunities for over 1.32 million people, over age 16, and generated
an economic output of $2.0 billion in 2001 (See the consumer price index
calculator to
update these figures).
- Florida freshwater recreational fishing generated 19,519 jobs with
earnings of $484 million in 2001.
- Florida freshwater fishing provided 20.8 million angler days of
recreation (92% resident) based on 14.5 million trips. (A trip is from the time
someone leaves home until they return and may include many days, a day
is defined by activity on a specific day.)
- Black bass anglers fished a total of 12.2 million days in Florida,
for an average of 9.3 days per angler in 2001.
- An “average” Florida freshwater fishing trip per a 1997 FSU study
lasted 5.4 hours.
- National research compiled by Dr. Tony Fedler indicates in 1996 the
modal family income for black bass anglers was $30,000-$50,000. Of all
black bass anglers that decreased their fishing effort, less than 5%
indicated cost (total not license) was the reason for cutting back.
- The “Net economic value” for bass from the Southeast Region was $52
(adjusts to $59), in 1996, with an economic value per day of $3.00 (adjusts to
$3.40). (Net economic value is estimated using contingent valuation.
Contingent valuation is a direct questioning approach by which
individuals are asked to reveal the value (willingness to pay) they
place on an item or activity within a survey setting. Net economic
value, or consumer surplus, is the appropriate economic measure of the
benefit to individuals from participation in wildlife-related
recreation.
- An average of 59 bass are caught by an individual angler per year in
the Southeast Region, leading to a marginal value per bass of $3.81
(adjusts to $4.32). (The marginal values show the change in net
economic value per year that would result from changing the average
catch rate by one fish per year.)
- Anglers spent an average of $18.20 per hour fishing in Florida fresh
waters in 1996 (adjusts to $20.65 for 2002); for a nonresident bass angler that figure
is $43.89 (adjusts to $49.79 for 2002).
- Resident freshwater angler demographics, as of 1996, were 71% male, 38% hold
college degrees, 60% are married, 84% are white, 12% are
African-American and 5% from Hispanic linguistic groups. The average
age was 42.
- If an average bass angler now fishes 9.3 days per year, for
an average of 5.4 hours per outing, then they are recreating for over
50 hours per year. A resident angler currently spends $12 on a fishing
license for that privilege or $0.24/hour. In a 1996 study, anglers expressed
a willingness to pay $52 more per year (total license fees, gas, lures,
information sources, snacks) for their fishing opportunities, plus an
additional $4.32 more per additional bass caught (not harvested).
- At 50 hours per year and a statewide average catch rate of 0.20 bass
per hour (roughly one bass per average angler per trip), if improved
habitat, stocking and regulation management programs yielded a 10%
increase in success rates to 0.22 bass per hour it would provide two
more bass caught on average per angler per year. That improvement would
generate more in marginal economic value than the cost of a
$5 bass stamp–without touching the untapped net economic value of
$52 per angler. Various groups have suggested this user-pays user-benefits
approach to enhancing bass fisheries, but it is not currently a formal
recommendation.
- A bass stamp would conservatively generate $1.5 million to $2.5 million per year (663,000 bass anglers, times $5, equals $3.3 million potential. The estimate, however, predicts (a) only 75% purchase the stamp (+$2.89 million), (b) 20% continue fishing (+/-$0) but for other species, and (c) 5% drop out entirely (-$0.40 million) for a net increase of $2.5 million)
- As an aside Florida holds the
top-five 5-fish bag results for BASS tournaments: BASS' all-time
heaviest one-day catch list, as of May 2005 is:
No. Weight ANGLER DATE LOCATION
1. 45-02 Dean Rojas 1/17/01 Lake Toho, Fla.
2. 41-10 Mark Davis 1/18/01 Lake Toho, Fla.
3. 36-9 Jay Yelas 1/18/01 Lake Toho, Fla.
4. 35-1 Gary Neimi 5/1/05 Lake Okeechobee, Fla.
5. 34-10 Aaron Martens 1/17/01 Lake Toho, Fla.
SOURCE
- The United States Fish and Wildlife Service contracts the U.S. Census Bureau every five years to conduct a “National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.” That survey is the basis for numerous more refined analyses of the value of fishing, including the USFWS’s individual State Overview for Florida, “The 2001 Black Bass Report,” and the “Sportfishing in America--Values of Our Traditional Pastime” which was produced by the American Sportfishing Association and the information on the Congressional Sportsman's Caucus Web site.. These definitive documents are the source for the above summary points. Visit our frequently answered questions page entry on the overall value of freshwater fishing in Florida to learn more. The latest Bass Fishing update from the USFWS
2003 Update
Bass Values
Bass Facts
GO FISHING!
