Inland Recreational Fishing in North Carolina: Economic Impacts and Angler Benefits. Report uri icon

Abstract

  • Executive Summary
    * As of August 30, 2018, there were 1,117,404 North Carolina (NC) inland recreational fishing license holders. The total state population of North Carolina in July 2018 was 10.4 million. About one-in-ten NC residents is an inland recreational fishing license holder.
    * Non-residents may purchase NC inland fishing licenses in order to fish in NC while visiting the state; however, over 99.88 percent of NCWRC inland fishing license holders are US residents, 95.64 percent are NC residents, and 4.23 percent are residents of other US states.
    * The average number of license holders per NC county is 10,687, with a maximum number of 68,275 license holders residing in Wake County and a minimum number of 1,101 license holders residing in Tyrrell County. The percentage of NC residents holding a license ranges from 7.4 to 19.7 percent across NCWRC management districts.
    * This study is based on a mail survey of a random sample of 40,000 NC inland recreational fishing license holders conducted from December 2016 through November 2017. The overall survey response rate was 24.5 percent, above the planned/expected rate of 20 percent.
    * Of the survey respondents, 38.9 percent were currently "active anglers" (fished within the three months prior to receiving the survey).
    * Active NC inland fishing license holders make an estimated 17.43 million inland fishing trips within NC per year. Of these, 16.88 million trips are made by NC residents, and 548 thousand trips are made by out-of-state residents.
    * Active NC resident inland anglers spend within NC an average of $111 per trip on trip expenses (gas, lodging, food, etc.), and out-of-state anglers spend within NC an average of $395 per trip.
    * Active NC resident inland anglers spend within NC an average of $2,337 per year on fixed/durable fishing goods (boats, rods, clothing, etc.), fishing licenses and insurance. Out-of-state anglers spend within NC an average of $1,831 per year on durable goods.
    * Active NC resident inland anglers spent an estimated $2.799 billion per year within the state on freshwater fishing from Dec. 2016 to Nov. 2017. Out-of-state inland anglers spent an additional $260 million per year within the state, for a total of $3.059 billion per year in total direct expenditures within the state. These direct expenditures supported an estimated 15,110 jobs, $412 million in labor income and $636 million in value added within the state.
    * Economic multiplier effects occurring within the state added an additional $1.123 billion per year in spending, 7,780 jobs, $350 million in labor income and $634 million in value added within the state. Including economic multiplier effects, inland anglers supported $4.182 billion in spending, 22,890 jobs, $762 million in labor income and $1.270 million in value added within the state.
    * The direct expenditures and economic multiplier effects supported by NC inland fishing generate $51.4 million in local government revenues within NC, an additional $72.4 million in NC state government revenues, and an additional $177.6 million in federal government revenues annually.
    * In addition to the economic impacts outlined above, inland anglers enjoy "consumer surplus" benefits from their fishing experiences. Consumer surplus is the net economic value to the angler of the fishing experience. The survey data enabled estimation of consumer surplus by two methods, the contingent valuation method and the travel cost method. The contingent valuation method found that NC inland anglers enjoy an average of $69.98 in consumer surplus per fishing trip, depending on the location of the fishing trip, target species, etc. Assuming $69.98 in consumer surplus per trip and 17.43 million trips per year, NC inland fishing resources, facilities and programs support $1.219 billion in aggregate consumer surplus annually.
    * Anglers have preferred fishing locations. The travel cost method found that from $19.72 to $64.51 of the consumer surplus per fishing trip depends on an angler's access to a particular NCWRC fishing district and its unique characteristics (i.e., if an angler is not able to fish in his/her preferred district, then consumer surplus declines by $19.72 to $64.51 per trip).
    * The number of streambank miles per county, the number of boat ramps per county, the percentage of anglers targeting mountain trout, and the percentage of anglers fishing on rivers and streams, or on lakes/reservoirs with motorboat access (as compared to private ponds/lakes without motorboat access), each had a positive, statistically significant effect on angler consumer surplus.

Publication Date

  • 2019-01-01