In a new economic report issued this month by the NOAA Fisheries Service it is mentioned that U.S. commercial and recreational fishing generated more than $185 billion in sales and supported more than two million jobs in 2006. The report states that the commercial fishing industry (harvesters, seafood processors and dealers, seafood wholesalers and seafood retailers) generated $103 billion in sales, $44 billion in income and supported 1.5 million jobs in 2006.
The report titled Fisheries Economics of the United States 2006 and it covers 1997 to 2006. The report also reveals that recreational fishing generated $82 billion in sales, $24 billion in income, and supported 534,000 jobs in 2006. Jim Balsiger, NOAA acting assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service, opined that the report documents clearly that managing fisheries sustainably is good for the environment and the economy. He added that fishing helps create a substantial number of jobs around the nation.
However, it is not yet clear what impact the recession will have on either industry. NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Monica Allen said that the review is going on which will give us a better idea of how the current economic downturn is affecting commercial and recreational fishing in Alabama and across the nation.
It is told that changes in rules governing annual catch limits are set to go into effect in 2010, and a regulated decline in overfishing in federally managed waters could help restore populations of certain species. The 2007 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act required fishery management plans to establish mechanisms for specifying annual catch limits at such levels that overfishing does not occur.
