Economic Impacts of Parks, Rivers, Trails and Greenways

Table 15. Fishing BenefitsTotal Freshwater SaltwaterAnglers 34.1 million 28.4 million 9.1 millionExpenditures $41.5 billion $29.5 billion $11.3 billionEconomic Output $116.1 billion $74.8 billion $31.1 billionJobs 1,068,046 683,892 296,898Wages & Salaries $30.1 billion $19.4 billion $8.1 billionTaxes $7.3 billion $4.8 billion $2.0 billion*Anglers aged 16 years and over. Approximately 10.3 million children aged 6 to 15 also fish, but are notincluded in the spending analysis.**Some expenditures were not classified by respondents as freshwater or saltwater. As a result, individualcategories may not add to the total.Statistics also show how fishing has a significant impact on a regional basis. In 2001, 1.4million Ohio anglers spent $944.6 million in fishing related expenditures (US FWS, 2001).3.3.5 BoatingRecreational boating is one of the nation’s most popular outdoor activities and includesrafting, rowing, kayaking, canoeing, motorboating, and jetskiing. It can take place on rivers,lakes and reservoirs, and along the nation’s ocean coastline. On a national scale, boating’simpacts are significant and continue to grow. Over 72 million Americans participated in recreational boating in 2003 and 5.5million went waterskiing. An estimated 840,800 new boats were sold for a totalretail value of $10.6 billion, with an average retail price of $12,611. Another $2.5billion was spent on new outboard motors (NNMA, 2003) The number of recreational watercraft owned in the U.S. is over 17 million,representing a 10% increase since 1988 (Ohio DNR, 2003). There were 86,700 canoes and 324,000 kayaks sold in 2003 at an average unit costof $573 and $466, respectively. The total retail value of these two segments alonewas $200 million (NMMA, 2003). Over $30 billion is estimated to be spent nationwide on the purchase of new andused boats, motors, engines, trailers, accessories and other marine relatedexpenditures. This is nearly triples the $11.2 billion that was spent in 1993 (OhioDNR, 2003). There are 1,782 federally-operated reservoirs/lakes that support 900 millionrecreational visits per year, representing an economic value of $44 billion annually(NRLSC, 1999). Between 1987 and 2003, participation in kayaking rose by 80% (SGMA, 2004).Table 16. Retail Boating Market: 2003CanoesKayaksTotal Units Sold 86,700 324,000Retail Value $49,644,420 $151,048,800Average Unit Cost $573 $46640