Whether fishing along the banks of a rural, wooded stream or miles offshore in the gulf, or along the coasts or nestled aside rivers and inshore lakes, recreational fishing is enjoyed by people of all ages and from every walk of life, making it the perfect activity for time alone or with family and friends.
While fishing doesn’t have to be a costly activity, the money spent by anglers adds up…quickly. Recreational fishing is, in fact, a significant economic driver for different nation, supporting millions of jobs involved in the manufacture, distribution and sale fishing products and services, plus all the businesses down the supply chain.
Since 2011, China's recreational fishing has sustained and rapid development. From 2011 to 2019, the output value
of recreational fishing increased by 68.717 billion yuan, up to 268.42%, with an average annual growth rate of
17.70% (the statistical data did not include Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Tibet, the same below). However,
due to the impact of COVID-19, the output value of recreational fishing was 78.057 billion yuan in 2020, 16.26
billion yuan less than 94.318 billion yuan in 2019, a 17.24% decrease, showing negative growth. The number of
business entities and employees was 128,400 and 734,500 respectively, down 4.27% and 11.88% year-on-year.
The number of outings was 225 million, down 17.66% year on year, and the per capita consumption expenditure
was 346.58 yuan, up 0.51% year on year.
In 2020, domestic tourism was hit hard by the epidemic, with 2.879 billion domestic tourists and 774.1 yuan per
capita spent on domestic tourism, down 52.06% and 18.79% respectively compared with 2019. Compared with
the domestic tourism industry, the annual tourist reception of recreational fishery decreased little, but the per
capita consumption expenditure increased slightly, the reason is that rural tourism and surbaban surroding tourism
outings accounted for a higher proportion of recreational fishery, compared with long-distance tourism, people's
consumption demand and stickiness for short trips is greater. In addition, affected by the prolonged presence of
novel Coronavirus and the likelihood of repeated outbreaks, people's lifestyle and consumption habits have changed,
the demand for short trips around will further increase, and recreational fishing will become the "rigid demand" of
urban and rural residents for leisure and entertainment.
According the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF), the number of all American anglers, six years and older, has grown steadily in recent years, reaching 50.1 million in 2019, or roughly one in six Americans.1 Together, they spend over $51 billion annually on equipment, licenses, trips and other fishing-related items or events. Anglers are truly a force to be heard. Thousands of local communities depend on the revenue generated from recreational anglers and related tourism, as does the industry providing lures, reels, rods, line, tackle boxes and more. The average American angler spends $1,037 annually in support of their pastime, creating and supporting 826,000 jobs to the tune of $39.5 billion in salaries and wages.
Those who benefit from these localized expenditures stretch far beyond the obvious such as marinas, fishing guides, tackle shops and gas stations but also the supporting businesses down the supply chain. Such businesses include resin manufacturers, oil refiners, boat manufacturers, food producers, trucking, shipping, accounting and insurance firms and all other critical support businesses supplying necessary parts, raw materials and services across the U.S.