The following was in the local Keys newspaper, kinda makes you wonder......
The survey says: Fishing, diving dramatically down
NOAA study details drops over 12 years
Somewhere during a span of a dozen years, the Florida Keys lost 145,982 anglers.
Also gone: 63,477 snorkelers and 57,683 scuba divers.
Those declines in the number of visitors who head onto the water during their Keys trips are among findings cited in a socioeconomic and recreation study being prepared for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Bob Leeworthy, chief economist with the National Marine Sanctuary Program, and study authors will discuss their preliminary report in an 8 p.m. Thursday public session at the Murray e. Nelson Government and Cultural Center, mile marker 102.
Surveys of visitors found that in 1995-96, 534,388 said they went fishing at some point during Keys stay.
In the 2007-08 update, the number of anglers dropped to 388,406, a 27.3-percent decline.
"I can't say that's wrong," said Skip Bradeen, a veteran offshore captain in Islamorada. "I was doing fine until four years ago, then business pretty much tanked."
During the study period, overall visitation in the Keys increased about 7 percent from 3.06 million in 1995-96 to 3.27 million in 2007-08.
The number of people saying they visited museums or historic sites jumped 48.4 percent, and those attending festivals or other cultural events went up 43.6 percent.
Trips to dive or fish suffered.
"All water-based activities lost market share over the 12-year period," says the study.
"There was a big increase in the cruise-ship business, and those visitors aren't here long enough to book a dive or fishing trip," said Cece Roycroft of the Dive Key West operation.
Visitors who went scuba diving in the Keys dropped a reported 28 percent, from 204,644 to 146,961. Snorkeling activity dipped 8.8 percent, from 720,030 to 656,553.
Roycroft said she considers the dive-related information in the report outdated, since this spring's sinking of the USS Vandenberg wreck off Key West spurred a big increase in diver visits.
"The Vandenberg has been a great economic boost," she said. "It was a long and arduous labor to get it done but it couldn't have come at a better time."
The full study is scheduled to be released in February.
Other findings in the preliminary report:
The average stay in the Keys declined from six days in the winter to 4.9 days, and summer trips went from 4.2 days to 3.5 days.
Spending per trip also declined, but the total amount spent by all visitors increased by 22 percent.
In 1996, only 12 percent of Keys visitors reported their household income was more than $100,000. By 2008, that number grew t0 47.3 percent.
Also gone: 63,477 snorkelers and 57,683 scuba divers.
Those declines in the number of visitors who head onto the water during their Keys trips are among findings cited in a socioeconomic and recreation study being prepared for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Bob Leeworthy, chief economist with the National Marine Sanctuary Program, and study authors will discuss their preliminary report in an 8 p.m. Thursday public session at the Murray e. Nelson Government and Cultural Center, mile marker 102.
Surveys of visitors found that in 1995-96, 534,388 said they went fishing at some point during Keys stay.
In the 2007-08 update, the number of anglers dropped to 388,406, a 27.3-percent decline.
"I can't say that's wrong," said Skip Bradeen, a veteran offshore captain in Islamorada. "I was doing fine until four years ago, then business pretty much tanked."
During the study period, overall visitation in the Keys increased about 7 percent from 3.06 million in 1995-96 to 3.27 million in 2007-08.
The number of people saying they visited museums or historic sites jumped 48.4 percent, and those attending festivals or other cultural events went up 43.6 percent.
Trips to dive or fish suffered.
"All water-based activities lost market share over the 12-year period," says the study.
"There was a big increase in the cruise-ship business, and those visitors aren't here long enough to book a dive or fishing trip," said Cece Roycroft of the Dive Key West operation.
Visitors who went scuba diving in the Keys dropped a reported 28 percent, from 204,644 to 146,961. Snorkeling activity dipped 8.8 percent, from 720,030 to 656,553.
Roycroft said she considers the dive-related information in the report outdated, since this spring's sinking of the USS Vandenberg wreck off Key West spurred a big increase in diver visits.
"The Vandenberg has been a great economic boost," she said. "It was a long and arduous labor to get it done but it couldn't have come at a better time."
The full study is scheduled to be released in February.
Other findings in the preliminary report:
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