Hey Sandhead, Max, et al...
I've posted the following stats before but I couldn't find it, so I will post it again. The survey, you will note, is somewhat dated, but is very interesting. It helps to put things into perspective.
Here it is:
2000 Survey of Sport Fishing in BC
·# of salmon caught in Lower Mainland: 493,955
·# of salmon kept in Lower Mainland: 134,521 (27.23% of salmon caught)
·recreational anglers who released fish voluntarily: 58.1%
·recreational anglers who released fish for mandatory reasons: 6.8%
·# of recreational anglers: 56,522
·# of salmon kept/ recreational angler/year: 2.38 salmon
·average expenditure/ recreational angler/year: $493.21
·average expenditure/ recreational angler/salmon/year: $207.23
·salmon catches by sector:Commercial fishery: 81%
Aboriginal fishery: 12%
Recreational fishery: 7%
·sector revenues (2002) of all species:
CommercialFishery:$358million Sport fishery: $675 million
Aboriginal fishery: Not reported
·sector employment (2002) :
Commercial fishery: 5,400 people
Sport fishery: 8,900 people
Aboriginal fishery: Not reported
·DFO fish allocation principles: - Conservation is first priority
- First Nations have next priority for food, social and ceremonial purposes, and treaty obligations
- Commercial and recreational fishery are then allocated surplus