People don’t come to the New Jersey shore just to eat fish. Many come to catch one — and that adds millions of dollars to the local economy.
New Jersey’s saltwater recreational fishing industry was worth $643.6 million in 2006, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data.
Jim Hutchinson, of the Galloway Township-based Recreational Fishing Alliance, says that earned the state a No. 5 ranking in the nation’s $45 billion-per-year saltwater sport-fishing business.
Anglers paid $140 million in federal and $100 million in state taxes in 2006.
In New Jersey, they landed 48 million pounds of fish in 2008, with 29.5 million pounds released and 18.5 million pounds taken home for dinner. Commercial fishermen harvested 162.4 million pounds during this period.