EDITORIALS
Statistics Or Lies As the immortal Mark Twain once remarked, “There are
which the survey defi nes as including the five Great
three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.” It seems
Lakes, tributaries, connecting rivers, and even part of
that everyone has statistics to back up their viewpoints, but
the St. Lawrence River.
how reliable are they? Are they statistics or lies? Take the recreational boating industry for example.
Despite their relatively small number, Great Lakes anglers posted some very impressive numbers when it came to
On June 11, the National Marine Manufacturers Association
spending money on fishing, accessories, and associated
(NMMA) announced that recreational boating in the U.S.
activities. On average, these sportfi shermen spent 12 days
had an annual economic value of $121 billion. The industry
fi shing in 2011, had trip-related expenditures that averaged
supports 964,000 American jobs and 34,833 businesses,
$655 per angler, and 69 percent of all the fi shermen on the
generates $40 billion in annual labor income, and drives $83
Great Lakes fi shed from boats.
billion in annual spending. NMMA released these fi ndings as part of its annual U.S. Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract, a collection of data and analysis on the U.S. recreational boating industry.
A review of the more than 1.6 million anglers on the Great Lakes showed that nearly 40 percent of them (c. 665,000 fi shermen) fi shed Lake Erie. The percentages for the other Great Lakes were: Lake Michigan, 25 percent; Lake Huron,
Of the estimated 232.3 million adults in the U.S. in 2012,
10 percent; Lake Superior, 9 percent; and Lake Ontario,
NMMA said that 88 million or 37.8 percent participated in
9 percent.
recreational boating at least once during the year. Th is is a six percent increase from 2011 and is the largest number of U.S. adults participating in boating since NMMA began collecting the data in 1990. Recreational boating participation has steadily increased since 2006. Earlier in the year, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) issued its “2011 Recreational Boating Survey” and said that 73.6 million people boated in 2011. Of the 116.7 million total households in the U.S, 34.2 million had at least one person participate in recreational boating, according to USCG. It said there were 12.75 million registered boats, 9.5 million unregistered, and 85 percent of all boats were less than 26 feet long. Less than 1 percent of all boats were 40 feet and longer. The USCG concluded that recreational boating is one of the nation’s most popular outdoor recreational activities and an important generator of income and employment.
Compare these statistics to those of the American Sportfi shing Association (ASA), which said there are 60 million anglers in the U.S., of which 46 million are fi shing in any given year. The number of anglers has increased about 11 percent over the last five years. Nationwide, ASA estimates that sportfi shing has an economic impact of $115 billion. National Hunting and Fishing Day put these fi shing facts on its website: More than 44 million Americans six years of age and older enjoy fi shing every year. The average angler spends $1,046 every year on the sport. Americans fi sh 557 million days per year. Recreational anglers spend a staggering $41.5 billion a year to fi sh. So, what’s the bigger fi sh tale: Are there 46 million, 44 million or 33.1 million sportfi shermen? Which one of these statistics do you believe?
But is 88 million or 73 million the correct number of boating participants?
The VOICE CE E off 44.3 .33 M Million illi il l on li o Boaters Boate
In December 2012, the fi nal report on the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation was released. It said that 33.1 million people enjoyed fi shing in 2011. Of this number, the vast majority, 27.5 million, were freshwater fishermen. Among the freshwater fi shermen, 1,665,000 fi shed on the Great Lakes,
08 GLB | Sept/Oct 13
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