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The Great Lakes Charter Fishing Industry
Author(s) -
Kuehn Diane,
Lichtkoppler Frank,
Pistis Charles
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
fisheries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.725
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1548-8446
pISSN - 0363-2415
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8446(2005)30[10:tglcfi]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - charter , fishing , profitability index , fishery , business , geography , commercial fishing , cash flow , agricultural economics , finance , economics , archaeology , biology
The existing sportfisheries of the Great Lakes were established in the 1960s and 1970s, when species of trout and salmon were stocked. Angler participation in the 1980s quickly increased in response to these developing fisheries, but began to decline in the early 1990s, negatively impacting sportfishing‐dependent businesses such as charter boat operations. We sought to identify the current status of the Great Lakes charter boat fishing industry and to identify industry‐related trends over the past three decades. In 2002 and 2003, a mail survey was distributed to a qualified sample of 1,767 Great Lakes charter captains in the United States. Data for 2002 are presented for the Great Lakes Region as a whole and for each of the states comprising the region (i.e., New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois/Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota). Data collected from surveys in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1994 are included for comparison purposes. Results indicate that the number of Great Lakes charter boat businesses increased in the 1970s and 1980s but began to decrease in the early 1990s, a decline that continued through 2002. Trends in the number of businesses appear to reflect overall trends in Great Lakes angler activity. While the average Great Lakes charter business had a positive net cash flow in 2002, the average firm lost money in the long term due to a negative net return. Variations in average business profitability occurred by state. Future business profitability will likely depend on diversifying services offered, seeking new market groups, and educating potential customers about Great Lakes issues.