Lake Ontario sportfishing slump forecast

The number of sportfishing trips taken in New York state waters on Lake Ontario likely will decline up to 32 percent in the next five years, researchers at Cornell University, Ithaca, said last week.

That prediction came as part of a study published in partnership with New York Sea Grant, a federal program promoting research and stewardship in coastal areas through university partnerships.

In "Lake Ontario Sportfishing: Trends, Analysis, and Outlook," researchers Tommy L. Brown and Nancy A. Connelly of Cornell's Department of Natural Resources assert the decline mirrors a trend of waning interest in outdoor recreation nationally.

The economic impact of a nearly one-third decline in state Lake Ontario sportfishing trips would be a loss of $17.3 million to $19 million in direct expenditures in 2007 dollars, and about 330 jobs, the report states. Lake Ontario is the state's largest sport fishery, in terms of both angler days and money spent directly as a result of the sport.

The researchers drew on 30 years' worth of data, said David G. White, a recreation and tourism specialist with New York Sea Grant at SUNY Oswego. By mining statistics collected over the years from fishing license sales, boating registrations, marina and angler surveys and demographic data, "they're able to do this kind of trend analysis," he said.

The gloomy report isn't meant to depress those in the industry. The information is aimed at helping them plan for times ahead and develop efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of a decline, Mr. White said.

He urged those involved in the tourism and recreation industries "to begin to think about 'How do we stem this?' and 'How do we make sure it doesn't go any further down?' It's really important because this is a major part of our economy."

Mr. White suggested one useful approach would be an effort to diversify participation in sportfishing. Developing youth programs also would help, he said, by cultivating a new generation of anglers.

One bright spot is that state Department of Environmental Conservation biologists report there's an increasing interest in bass fishing. Ms. Connelly, one of the report's authors, said in a press release from New York Sea Grant that if that trend continues, it could offset a portion of the projected decline, perhaps reducing the decline in the number of fishing trips from 32 percent to 19 percent.

The study also takes stock of how sportfishing impacts the regional economy.

In 2007, anglers spent 1.5 million days fishing in New York state waters on Lake Ontario, spending an average of $35 per day at the fishing site and $17 en route. That contributed $54 million to the fishing sites' economies, and $26 million en route, totaling $80 million in direct sportfishing expenditures.

Of that total, tourist anglers — people who live outside the Lake Ontario county where they fished — contributed $60 million and 1,032 jobs, according to the report. Tourist anglers spent about $53 per day at their fishing destinations.

In 2007, the value of that indirect economic impact from angling on the seven coastal counties was more than $9 million, according to the report.

ON THE NET

The complete report, "Lake Ontario Sportfishing: Trends, Analysis, and Outlook," is available on the New York Sea Grant Web site. Go to www.seagrant.sunysb.edu and type "Lake Ontario sportfishing" into the search box.