Recreational FisheriesUsing Customer Surveys to Assess Economic Impacts

Dan O’Keefe, Ph.D.Michigan Sea Grant & MSU Extension

8/14/11

2009 Michigan Fishing Economics Study

Charter fishing customer survey

Tournament captain survey

Evaluation of outcomes/impacts

Charter Customer Survey~9,000 invitation cards 2009

141 responses to online survey

12 non-responders replied

Ludington accounted for 78% of returns, Lks. Huron and Michigan well-represented

Change in Expenditures Associated with Charter Fishing Trips Due to Economic Downturn in 2009

Local Spending per Party (2009 $s)

1985   2009Charter fees and tips $454.08 $613.02 Hotels, motels, B&Bs, camping $249.48 $213.08 Restaurants and taverns $239.24 $119.37 Groceries and liquor stores $107.80 $75.81 Fuel for automobiles and trucks $9.44 $93.29 Entertainment $47.20 $23.29 Souvenirs and shopping* $77.12 $37.61 Auto/truck expenditures other than fuel - $14.31 Fishing licenses - $50.71 Fishing equipment - $5.60 Other - $16.84

TOTAL $1,181.36 $1,262.96

Fishing Party Expenditures

* Included all other expenditures in 1985

Economic Impacts to Coastal Communities in 2009

Total Personal Employment Expenditures Output Income Hours

Lake Erie and St. Clair System $1,032,329 $1,427,230 $538,115 25,468Lake Huron $1,364,680 $1,563,551 $574,493 50,002Lake Michigan $9,051,449 $11,605,165 $4,989,910 259,756Lake Superior $226,518 $276,027 $102,021 8,573

TOTAL $11,674,976 $14,871,972 $6,204,539 343,799

Economic Output Based on MDNRE Trip Counts 1990-2009

Economic Output Based on MDNRE Trip Counts Lake Huron Regions - 1990-2009

Economic Impact CalculatorInput any number of trips taken

and name of lake

Economic impacts are given based on 2009 data

Trip numbers for each port/year are on MDNR site

Pre- and post- data could be used to evaluate effects of restoration on charter-induced tourism

Tournament Economic Impacts16 Tournament Trail events

around Lk. Michigan in 2009

$852,113 gross sales in coastal communities

21,386 employment hours

$1,436.56 spent per team; no Pro/Am difference

11% overlap with charter economic impacts

Economic Impacts of Ludington Offshore Classic 2009

131 teams fished

$109,545 gross sales resulted

2,749 employment hours generated in Ludington

11% overlap with charter

Products AvailableFisheries Economics Web Pages

(www.miseagrant.umich.edu)

Fact sheets

Project Reports

Economic impact calculators

Fact Sheet Mailing263 charter captains

327 gov’t, tourism, economic development , fisheries professionals and others

Mail-in survey to evaluate reactions

How did non-captains react?57% said the value of fishing to coastal

communities was higher than they previously thought (1% lower)

55% said they would use economic data to build support for protecting Great Lakes ecosystem health

Is fisheries economics information useful to you?

Do restoration projects increase charter or tournament fishing effort?

AcknowledgementsDr. Steve Miller, MSU CEADr. Chi-Ok Oh, MSU CARRSDonna Wesander, MDRNETracy Kolb, MDNRELynn Vaccaro, MISGChuck Pistis, MISGBrandon Schroeder, MISGLudington Area Charter Boat

Association