Fish Factor: Report shows commercial fisheries far more valuable to state than sport fishing

The debate over which sector – commercial or recreational fishing – provides the bigger economic punch can finally be put to rest.

The annual ‘Fisheries Economics of the US’ report by the Dept. of Commerce shows once and for all that in terms of values, jobs, sales and incomes the commercial sector far outscores recreational fishing. A breakdown of the extensive report by market analyst John Sackton shows that in 2012, commercial fishing had $140 billion in sales compared to $58 billion for sport fishing. And for the value contributed to the national economy, commercial fishing added nearly $6...