Fishing For Dollars

Fishing For Dollars - Contributing to the Economy
By Captain Gerry Bresdadola

If you live in the great Northeast, you are certainly aware of the mass exodus of manufacturing jobs that seem to occur with painful unwanted regularity. In New York State, the highest taxed state in the union, we have lost thousands of valuable jobs. Some of these billets migrate to the sunny south, but many are now being routed overseas. It is not just a matter of competing with other states, the reality is that foreign countries are skillfully exploiting the USA and taking advantage of us with dollar valuations and industry subsidies designed to give them a distinct economic upside. Level playing field? It is not even close. Not when one considers New York State's high energy costs, high taxes, and workmen's compensation problems.
Listen to an electioneering office seeker and you will usually hear about brilliant plans to bring jobs back to our economy. Jobs are simply a great talking point, especially during election years. Once elected to office what usually happens is the bold, brilliant ideas find their way to the "never come to fruition" depository in the sky. That's a sad, but true fact.
Now why is this matter being discussed in an outdoors magazine? What has it got to do with fishing? Well, read on and I'll tell you.
Tourism is the second largest industry in NYS after agriculture. Here are a few facts. Tourism generates over 756,000 jobs statewide, with 17,500 of these jobs being fishery related. Tourism generates $37.9 billion in visitor and travel spending. The fishing industry is a big part of that. Consider that in Oswego County alone tourism generated $166 million to the county's economy. Anglers contributed $45 million of that total. Now add in the fishing revenues of other counties such as Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Cayuga and Jefferson and you get an idea of the revenue magnitude of the fishery. As that Dude says "It's huuuuge!!!! In the United States there are 44 million anglers. Their economic impact on recreational fishing is about 116 billion per year. There are 1 million jobs related to sport fishing. That is a mighty big industry.
On the northern border of NYS is a natural wonder called Lake Ontario, a magnificent Inland Sea. Depending on the source of the data, it is estimated that on an annual basis the lake fishery in NYS creates well over $200 million in annual revenues." One would think that this fishing industry would warrant a high priority status when it comes to economic concerns, but it doesn't! Outside of the fishing community and a few Lake Ontario knowledgeable elected officials with districts touching the lake, as an industry we don't seem to raise much attention. Everybody knows about fishing, but not everyone realizes the revenue it generates and just how much this contributes to the economy.
I know there are those who would say that the resource should not be exploited for the almighty dollar. They always say that! Probably certain environmental groups would be aghast at such a "radical" notion. That is usually their position! I am even convinced that certain fishing groups would be so inclined to "pooh pooh" the revenue potential of the fishery. For some that is fashionable!
The stark reality is that we are in a significant economic struggle in our state. We desperately need revenue to pay for running our huge sometimes inefficient government. Worthy programs do need funding and are certainly deserving. State unfunded mandates are wreaking havoc with county governing bodies because the state creates dollar devouring programs that local governments must pay for. In the case of Oswego County, and all other state counties as well, unfunded mandates mean higher taxes and cuts in what the legislators see as unnecessary services such as tourism. Oswego County has one of the highest fishing license sale numbers in the state, about 65,000 per year. Why cut funds from an agency that touts the fishery which in turn generates needed revenues.
I don't believe there are too many multi-million dollar industries looking to locate in NYS. When Carrier Corp recently decided to leave NY for the Asian rim our politicos offered a multi-million dollar "stipend" in an effort to keep the jobs in NY. A noble move to be sure, but one flatly turned down by Carrier. Officials came up with millions in a blink of an eye.
While this was going on, the Fish and Wildlife Division of the DEC was told that they could not fill any open positions due to a statewide hiring freeze recently enacted by the governor. Due to a state revenue crunch, the hiring freeze applies to all state agencies without exception. (Well, I will bet there are a few exceptions) Now that would seem to be fair, except when you look closer you discover that in the case of Fish and Wildlife the majority of budget money comes from the Conservation Fund which in 2002/2003 generated about 45 million dollars basically from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. Sportsmen and women pay for a huge chunk of the Fish and Wildlife budget. The breakdown is, $31 million from the Conservation Fund, (license sales) $8 million from the General Fund, (we sportsmen also pay NYS taxes) and $17 million from federal funds, (we pay federal taxes too) according to the DEC. Not only are we not allowed access to conservation fund monies: certain committed federal funds are also off limits to the DEC. It seems to me that we pay a sizeable share and we pay more than once. We buy licenses, we pay state and federal taxes and we even pay special taxes on the purchase of sporting goods. We pay, pay, and then, we pay again.
This being the case, I find it hard to understand why Fish and Wildlife cannot fill 6 hatchery positions and 2 Cape Vincent Research biology positions when the money to pay for the jobs is sitting in the Conservation Fund. That's right, the money is there, but we can't spend it. I understand the need for a hiring freeze; however, we have contributed to the fund through license sales and taxes on sporting goods purchases. In the case of the hatchery jobs we will see a reduction in brown trout stocking all across the state due to lack of personnel. In the case of the Cape Vincent Station, one person is being asked to do the job of three. That is a fact, and it is unfair and certainly unproductive. These unfilled positions affect all of NYS fishing, not just Lake Ontario.
Sportsmen supported a license fee increase to help fund fish and wildlife programs. Now the state is charging us more but we are not allowed to spend the money we contributed. We face stocking cuts due to a state created manpower shortage that can result in reduced revenues. I am talking about 8 people here, not 800!!!
I am talking about negatively impacting tourism revenues through a shortsighted and very unfair approach. We are not asking for funding we don't have. We are asking for permission to spend the money we raised solely for fish and wildlife purposes. Why purposely curtail efforts, which can produce needed revenue to the private and government sectors? If we are willing to spend millions to keep jobs in NYS, why are our elected officials unwilling to let the DEC fill funded jobs that will in turn raise private sector revenues? It doesn't make sense.
Like it or not Lake Ontario provides a unique opportunity to enhance our NYS economy. The dollars required to do this are rather insignificant when compared to the bucks provided to other entities that promise jobs. Consider that the infrastructure is already in place. We have the lake and it is already full of clean water. We have a first class tributary system providing nutrients to the lake and made to order fish habitat. We have a quality hatchery system set to provide the raw materials (fingerling and yearling fish) to the lake waters where nature acts to manufacture the finished product. Finally, we have a team of NYSDEC fishery professionals who are emanately qualified and totally dedicated to managing a world class fishery. We don't need to build it; it is already there. We can thank God, Mother Nature, the ice age or whomever for placing Lake Ontario on our northern border. Fact is, it is there, and it is ours. We have proven that we can maintain the environment with sound conservation practices and at the same time provide needed revenues. Seems to me that to ignore this is irresponsible and a disservice to all citizens of New York, whether they fish or not.
I once attended a Lake Ontario management meeting where we fisherman were irreverently referred to as the "camo crowd." It was a comment meant to be demeaning. To me the "camo" crowd is about conservationists who are more than willing to do whatever they can to improve the system. Long before the arrival of environmentalists, conservationists born of the hunting and fishing movement had long been at work.
A combination of current DEC Fishery professionals and proper funding will result in an excellent fishery that will entice anglers to come to New York's Lake Ontario shores in pursuit of trophy trout and salmon. What is going on at DEC fisheries today is that fewer people are being asked to do more (overall they are down about 30 positions). We all seem to be doing more with less and that is certainly acceptable to a point, but now in the case of Fish and Wildlife staffing we have gone too far. We can not continue to reduce staffing without causing a negative impact on the fishery and the revenue that it represents. Remember now, I am just a "camo" type of guy and I probably do not really understand the complexities of the economic world. So maybe I should climb back into my pickup and ease on down to the next NASCAR race. I can grab a couple of cool ones and let the "chosen ones" call the shots. Well, I will go to a race or two and I will continue my efforts with regard to our wonderful fishery.
We aren't asking for a lot, we just want what we paid for. If the money is there to hire needed personnel, we want them hired. If a certain effort will make our fishery better, we want the effort to commence. While other industries are leaving our state and even our country the Lake Ontario fishing industry can be ours forever.
The fishery is genuinely spectacular and with a tiny bit of effort it could help the economy even further. The fishing infrastructure exists! All we need is adequate manpower staffing at the DEC level, some tourism dollars for promoting our product and active stakeholder participation. That is all we need!
There is nothing wrong with fishing for dollars. There is nothing wrong with properly utilizing resources provided by nature. There is nothing wrong with contributing to the economic health of NYS. Finally, there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting what we paid for. Even a "camo" guy can understand that!
Ref: American Sport Fishing Assoc.
NYSDEC
Oswego County Tourism