U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Net Worth

The Economic Value of 

Fisheries Conservation

Fall 2011
Ranger Boats

By Bryan Arroyo

Since 1871, the Fisheries Program 

of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

has been a leader in managing species, 

conserving habitat and sustaining the 

biological health 

of America’s 

aquatic 

resources. These 

resources—the 

richest and most 

diverse on Earth

—are 

inextricably tied 

to the health and 

wealth of our 

Nation. Benefits 

include 

ecological, 

scientific, aesthetic, recreational, 

commercial, subsistence, social, 

cultural—and economic.

This report highlights $3.6 billion 

in annual contributions to the U.S. 

economy by the Fisheries Program and 

many partners: states, tribes, NGOs 

and private organizations.

How big is $3.6 billion?

A company with $3.6 billion in 

annual profits would rank No. 41 on the 

Fortune 500 List of America’s Most 

Profitable Corporations. That’s just 

behind retailer CVS Pharmacies and 

Verizon, but ahead of the grocery 

brand Kraft.

Conservation stimulates 

commerce. Money changing hands 

translates to industry; $903 million in 

industrial output results from angling 

for fish originating in the National Fish 

Hatchery 

System. Habitat 

and fisheries 

conservation 

create more than 

68,000 jobs in a 

multitude of 

businesses. 

Money invested 

today pays 

dividends 

tomorrow. That 

is the essence of 

conservation, looking out on the longhorizon. This economic report lends a 

well-documented perspective that 

conservation is a commodity good for 

fish and for people. 

Think about it—the Total 

Economic Contribution of the National 

Fisheries Program: $3.6 billion 

annually. That’s $70 million a week—

$10 million a day. 

The return on investment is 

tremendous.

Bryan Arroyo is the Assistant 

Director for Fisheries and Habitat 

Conservation in Washington, DC.

AMERICA’S AQUATIC GOODS AND SERVICES

ON THE COVER: The “net worth” 

of the Gila trout is measured in 

myriad ways—by scientists, 

anglers, and economists. This fish 

was an endangered species, closed 

to angling for over 50 years. 

Dedicated conservationists brought 

it back from the brink in 2006. Once 

staring into the dark abyss of 

extinction, the fish is now sought by 

a following of anglers. Through 

conservation, the Gila trout now 

contributes to the economy, 

generating time on the water, and 

the spending associated with it, in 

Arizona and New Mexico.

This report is based on “Conserving 

America’s Fisheries, An 

Assessment of Economic 

Contributions from Fisheries and 

Aquatic Resource Conservation,” a 

41-page peer-reviewed report 

prepared by Joseph Charbonneau, 

Ph.D., and James Caudill, Ph.D. 

and published by the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service’s Division of 

Economics. 

To receive additional copies of this 

report or more information, contact:

Mr. Michael DeRosa

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - 

Fisheries

4401 North Fairfax Drive

Arlington, VA 22203

(703) 358-1792

michael_derosa@fws.gov

www.fws.gov/fisheries/

Melanie Dabovich/USFWS
Supporting 68,000 Jobs

A total of 68,000 American jobs are 

attributable to the economic 

contribution of the National 

Fisheries Program. If all 68,000 of 

these jobs were part of a single 

company, its workforce numbers 

would closely match that of these 

large U.S. companies: Merck; State 

Farm Insurance; Whirlpool; 

Comcast; and Boeing.

Ranger Boats

Imagine a business investment that annually 

returns 28 times its initial investment.

America’s National Fisheries Program does.

Each taxpayer 

dollar budgeted for 

the program 

generates $28 in 

economic returns.

The revenue 

generated can be 

seen at sporting 

goods stores, 

marinas, boat 

dealerships, guides 

and outfitter services; bait shops, gas stations, cafes, hotels, 

wildlife watching tour businesses and many other 

enterprises that exist for, or benefit from, the National 

Fisheries Program and its many partners.

MAJOR PAYOFFS

USFWS

Ranger Boats
Hodgman

Recreational Angling Resulting from National 

Fish Hatchery Stocking Programs Generates:

•13.5 million 

angler-days

•$554 million

in retail sales

•$903 million

in industrial output

•8,000 jobs

•$256 million

in wages/salaries

•$37 million

in federal tax revenues

•$35 million

in local tax revenues Henry Quinlan

Henry Quinlan
Fall 2011

Species in Peril

Despite efforts to conserve fish and other 

aquatic resources, a growing number of 

species are declining. The Endangered 

Species List includes 139 fish, 70 mussel, 25 

amphibian and 22 crustacean species. 

Here’s a sample of relevant Fisheries 

Program initiatives:

Maintaining 

broodstock 

populations of 

imperiled species at 

national fish 

hatcheries. Rare 

species held in 

refugia are valued by 

the public at $456 

million.

Healthy Habitat, Healthy Economy

Restoring or enhancing habitat is an 

essential function of the Fisheries 

Program. Healthy habitats ensure good 

fishing, and protect homes, businesses, 

and roads from damaging floods. The 

National Fish Passage Program and 

National Fish Habitat Action Plan are 

key components in habitat management. 

Working with partners, an annual 

average of 890 miles of river habitat reopened to fish passage has a value of $483 

million when in full productivity, and with 

it an estimated 11,000 jobs. That exceeds 

a value of $542,000 per stream mile.

Propagating and 

restocking the 

razorback sucker to 

indigenous rivers in 

Colorado, New 

Mexico, Arizona and 

Utah. 

Assessing non-point 

source pollution that 

threatens six rare 

mussel populations in 

the Chipola River 

Basin in Florida.

Restoring fish 

passage for pallid 

sturgeon migrating 

between critical 

secondary channels 

and the navigation 

channel of the lower 

Mississippi River.

Habitat Conservation

Types of Projects: Restore, enhance 

and protect habitat; restore in-stream 

flows and fish migration, monitor habitat 

quality.

Example: Worked with Eglin Air 

Force Base in Florida to remove dams and 

other barriers to restore critical passage 

for the Okaloosa darter. Fisheries 

Program dollars were matched almost 5:1 

with funding from partners. 

Species Conservation

Types of Projects: Recover 

threatened and endangered species, 

develop and implement fishery 

management plans, restore native species, 

control nuisance species.

Example: Worked with state, federal 

and Tribal resource agencies to recover 

once-endangered Apache trout in Arizona. 

The species is now abundant enough to 

support recreational fishing.

Cooperation with States

Types of Projects: Develop 

recreational fishing opportunities, 

mitigation of federal water developments, 

stocking fish in conjunction with state 

DNRs.

Example: Stocked 9 million rainbow 

trout; each taxpayer dollar spent 

generated $32.20 in angler retail sales.

Cooperation with Tribes

Types of Projects: Provide technical 

assistance, training, job opportunities for 

Tribal members and fish for stocking on 

Tribal lands.

Example: Restore coho salmon in the 

Waatch River for subsistence fishing on 

the Makah Reservation in Washington. 

Nationally, fish populations managed for 

subsistence have a minimum replacement 

value of $301 million.

Science and Technology

Types of Projects: Conduct Wild Fish 

Health Surveys, lead advancements in 

diagnostics, nutrition, genetics, 

propagation and marking.

Example: Work with aquaculture 

industry and agencies to monitor, manage 

and contain pathogens that could have 

detrimental impacts on fish populations 

and associated economic benefits.

USFWS

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Fisheries Program professionals, facilities and partners work 

together in five core areas:
The Fisheries Program 

generates major economic 

benefits nationally and in 

your backyard.

Alaska

Removed passage barriers to 

conserve habitat and help 

sustain salmon runs in southcentral Alaska. Local anglers 

spent $989 million and 

generated $91 million in state 

and local taxes.

Central U.S.

Provided public fishing access 

at Desoto National Wildlife 

Refuge. Desoto Lake receives 

26,000 angling visits per year, 

generating $1.3 million in 

annual economic benefit for 

western Iowa and eastern 

Nebraska.

New England

Helped restore recreational 

angling for Atlantic salmon 

and other species by 

removing a dam and restoring 

fish passage in Souhegan 

River in New Hampshire.

Southeast

Utilized national fish 

hatcheries in Arkansas, 

Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 

Mississippi, North Carolina, 

South Carolina, Tennessee

and Louisiana to rear and 

release 22.3 million sport fish 

in 12 southeastern states. 

Anglers responded with 3.2 

million days of fishing, generating $239 million in economic 

output and supporting 3,100 jobs.

Reared and released 

Gulf Coast striped bass 

to help restore a 

commercial and 

recreational fishery in 

Louisiana. This effort 

generated 3,000 angler 

days and $425,000 in 

local economic benefits.

Great Lakes

Controlled non-native 

sea lamprey 

populations to help 

minimize impacts on 

sport species. This 

effort provided 

economic contributions 

of $556 million and 

13,200 jobs.

Improved spawning 

habitat for lake 

sturgeon, walleye and 

other sportfish by 

providing fish passage 

to reconnect habitats on 

both sides of Heiberg 

Dam in Minnesota.

Western U.S.

Reared and released 12 

million Chinook salmon 

to support commercial 

and recreational 

fisheries in northern 

California. In the 

Sacramento River 

alone, salmon fishing is 

valued at over $100 

million annually.

Hold in refugia a unique strain of Lahontan cutthroat trout 

extirpated from Lake Tahoe in the 1930s. This trout will be 

the centerpiece of a reintroduction program in several 

fisheries in Nevada.

Aside from its $3.6 billion total economic impact and associated 68,000

jobs on a national scale, the Fisheries Program brings direct benefits 

to Main Street, America.

With dozens of conservation offices, hatcheries, labs, health, and

technology centers -- and more that 800 dedicated professionals -- the

program's facilities and its employees are a significant economic force

themselves, where they live and work. The Fisheries Program's local 

economic impact translates to 5,692 jobs that stem from wages, 

supplies, and services rendered at Fisheries facilities, making a 

difference in hometowns across the country.

USFWS

Hometown Benefits

MAKING AN IMPACT
Inflation takes a toll

Budget increases for the Fisheries Program have not kept 

pace with inflation. In fact, in constant dollars, the 

nominally higher appropriation in 2008 was actually lower

than the 2004 appropriation.

YEAR ACTUAL 

APPROPRIATION

ADJUSTED 

APPROPRIATION

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

$114,321,000 $131,872,000

$114,569,000 $127,827,000

$116,488,000 $125,906,000

$117,778,000 $123,775,000

$126,499,000 $128,025,000

THE 

POTENTIAL 

FOR 

MORE Previous pages of this report have highlighted 

the monetary value of Fisheries Program work to 

maintain and improve America’s aquatic assets. 

Statistics show strong economic performance — 

every $1 invested by taxpayers translates to $28 in 

economic impact. Facts, figures and examples 

illustrate the program’s $3.6 billion in annual 

contributions to the U.S. economy. 

But the Fisheries Program also contributes 

value in ways that can’t be computed.

What’s the real worth of a parent’s joy in 

introducing their son or daughter to fishing? Or a 

youngster’s thrill as a bobber plunges beneath the 

water?

What’s the real worth of citizens’ satisfaction in 

knowing local waters are clean enough to support 

sensitive species?

America has always been socially and culturally 

tied to its lands and waters, its wildlife and fish. 

Even in today’s modern world, with so many 

distractions from traditional outdoor lifestyles, 

surveys show most Americans still care deeply 

about the health and wellbeing of nature. 

Since 1871 — 30 years before Roosevelt 

became President — the Fisheries Program of the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been working to 

turn over our nation’s aquatic resources to the next 

generation increased, and not impaired, in value.

With adequate funding, this stewardship can 

grow to fit the needs of America’s future.

“The nation behaves well if it 

treats natural resources as assets 

which it must turn over to the 

next generation increased, and 

not impaired in value.”

 Theodore Roosevelt
re•turn on in•vest•ment (ri-turn awn in-vest-muh-nt) noun 

1. A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of 

an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of 

different investments. To calculate ROI, the benefit (return) of 

an investment is divided by the cost of the investment; the 

result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.

DEFINITION

68,000

AMERICAN JOBS ATTRIBUTABLE TO 

THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF 

THE NATIONAL FISHERIES PROGRAM

$3.6B

TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TAX 

DOLLARS INVESTED INTO NATIONAL 

FISHERIES PROGRAM

$28:$1

ECONOMIC RETURNS GENERATED PER 

TAX DOLLAR INVESTED INTO 

CONSERVING

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service