Slide 12 of 12

These statistics really tell the story. Commercial edible finfish landings generated about an eighth of the overall recreational impacts, more than 2.5 times the resource was killed to generate that fractional impact. The actual difference in impact, when the resources used are considered, is a factor of 20.

To generate one commercial job, 23 thousand pounds of finfish have to be harvested. One job in the recreational sector costs 1005 pounds. Again, a factor of over 20.

Virginians get $1.34 of income per pound of commercially harvested finfish, compared to almost 19 times that for a recreationally harvested fish. Again, that factor of 20.

The most interesting, and important to the state, is that commercial harvesters spend only 28 cents per pound harvesting the finfish. Recreational fishermen spend 100 times that amount, fueling huge economic benefits for our coastal communities.