Updating the knowledge

Overview

The last time a comprehensive study was undertaken on the value of recreational fishing in Australia was in 2001, when the last national social and economic survey was undertaken. This comprehensive 2001 study found that estimated expenditure on services and items that was attributed to recreational fishing was $1.85 billion over the survey period. Since that time, a number of state-based surveys have examined expenditure on recreational fishing in different Australian states. A smaller number of studies have also sought to place a dollar value on the less tangible values of fishing, through asking fishers to identify how much they would be willing to pay to maintain recreational fishing, or identifying the value of the time people invest in recreational fishing.

Recreational fishing has changed a lot in Australia since the last national social and economic survey was undertaken in 2001. This study will produce an up-to-date understanding of the economic contribution of recreational fishing, including both expenditure on fishing and the less tangible — but often just as important — benefits of fishing for things such as health and wellbeing of fishers and fishing communities. 

Find out more about:

• The types of economic contribution recreational fishing can have
• What past studies tell us about the economic contribution of recreational fishing
• How we will be measuring the economic contribution of recreational fishing in this study.

The study is funded by the Australian government and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.