Below are several statistics about Florida's recreational and commercial fishing industries and their economic role.
Recreational Fishing
# of Anglers
See Also
Maine Observer: Anglers see fishing as a metaphor for lifeWhat is another word for "fishing question"?fishing expedition- 4 million Florida anglers:FWC Office of Licensing and Permitting2017/2018 FWC participant report for all unique freshwater and saltwater licensed individuals including saltwater multiplier from the 2011 National Survey.
Licensing
- 1.5 million recreational saltwater licenses sold in fiscal year 19/20
- $37.8 million in total saltwater license sales (FY 19/20)
- 2.4 million recreational resident and nonresident who had an active license in fiscal year 19/20
Economic impact:
- Saltwater recreational fishing: 9.2 billion*
- Saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing combined- $13.8 billion*
- Supports: 88,501* (saltwater only)
- Supports: 120,000 jobs* (saltwater and freshwater combined)
(Source:American Sportfishing Association and Southwick Associates,based on USFWS 2011 survey data updated to 2020 using FWC-OLP’s license trend data plus inflation data)*
Records
IGFA
Florida #1 in number of International Game Fish records
- Total Florida Records (including retired records): 4,629
- Total Current Records (international): 6,797
- Current Records from USA: 2,816
- Current Records from Florida: 925
Top Countries(current records)
Top States(current records)
- Florida – 925
- Alaska – 322
- California - 314
Saltwater Commercial Fishing
Licensing
- More than 12,000 Saltwater Products Licenses issued, generating revenue for the state totaling over $1,000,000 – 2019/20 Fiscal Year (SPL only, does not include RS or MS)
- Over 9,700 individual commercial saltwater fishers with Saltwater Products Licenses 2019/20 FY
- More than 1,700 wholesale dealer licenses issued (1 license per person) generating more than $940,000 and there were over 7,000 retail dealer licenses sold generating over $375,000 in revenue. – 2019/20 FY
Economics
- $197 million in commercial food fish sales (estimated dockside value)
- FWRI commercial landings data 2020
- Florida's commercial fisheries generate$3.2 billion inincome and support76,700 jobs. - NOAA, Fisheries Economics of the United States, 2016
Landings Data
The top species in dockside value harvested during 2020 in Florida were:
- Shrimp ($49 M)
- Stone crab ($31 M)
- Spiny lobster ($25 M)
- Blue crab ($12.7 M)
- Red snapper ($12.7 M)
2020 Florida commercial landings:
- 69 million pounds of commercial food fish landings worth over $197 million in dockside value - FWRI Commercial Landings Data 2020
Updated Sept. 2021
