The Deep Lines of Fishing - Part 1 An Economic Engine
By Charlie Petrocci	April 2004

Click here to enlarge The Bay Bee is one of several head boats running half-day fishing trips out of Ocean City, MD. Charter season runs April through December, weather permitting. Photo by Charlie Petrocci.

        "And What sport doth yeeld a more pleasing comfort and less hurt and change than angling with a hooke?" Arguably with these words, 17th century explorer and fisherman Captain John Smith launched the earliest form of sport fishing in the Chesapeake Bay region. Today, saltwater sport fishing along the Eastern Shore is a multi-million dollar industry. At the forefront of this regional economic development is the recreational charter boat industry.
       
        For well over a hundred years, the charter and party (or “head”) boats have formed the backbone of the sport fishing industry in the mid-Atlantic region, including the Eastern Shore. Charter boat operators have been guiding, entertaining, and educating generations of anglers. They are a driving force in economic development for many small coastal communities along the Delmarva Peninsula. In Maryland’s small waterfront towns such as Crisfield and larger more elaborate marinas such as those found around Ocean City, charter boats abound, with deep cultural roots in recreational fishing. Many Eastern Shore ports today cast a shadow reminiscent of the Zane Grey and Ernest Hemingway era.
       
        For many years, anglers of modest means who sought to fish for inland bay, coastal, or offshore species had little choice but to use a hired boat to get in on the action. It was, otherwise, a “rich man’s game.” This has changed over the last 30 years, as increased personal wealth among the middle class enabled more people to buy boats of their own. While this cut deep into the charter boat business, the industry remained resilient. In the coastal corridor of the eastern shores of Maryland and Virginia, over 200 charter boats-for-hire service anglers as they have for decades. This is where one finds salty captains paired with grizzled mates, variously hunting offshore blue water giants or engaged in a family outing, fishing for bottom fish such as croaker and flounder.
       
        Charter and head boats cater to a wide variety of anglers from novice to experienced and including every race, gender, color, and nationality. The term “head boat” refers to the practice of charging for each person, or head, that comes along. On board a boat, anglers share common ground in their pursuit of fishing recreation. Avid angler and former president of the United States Herbert Hoover summed it up: "Fishing is great discipline in the equality of men, because all men are equal before fish."
       
        The sport fishing industry is now a multi-faceted attraction for tourists and tourist-related dollars. Marinas hosting charter boats entice non-consumptive users, too: those who are attracted to weigh-ins, fishing tournaments, and the daily dockside activities of an active port. Many visitors to waterfront vacation areas begin by simply watching and then, enticed by marina managers, anglers, and related fishing service businesses, end up trying it themselves.
       
        CHASING THE URGE
        Each year like clockwork, certain species make their annual appearance in the waters around the Eastern Shore. Beginning in the spring with shad, these are soon followed by a parade of game fish such as striped bass, bluefish, mackerel, seabass, red drum, croaker, tuna, and marlin. Hard on the heels of the fish are the anglers trying to catch them.
       
        Similar to the fish they seek, anglers migrate to the Eastern Shore. Many come from Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey to get in on the action. "I get anglers from all over the mid-Atlantic region each year,” says Capt. Keith Ward of Crisfield. “Sometimes it’s families, sometimes friends, and often small business groups. Many of my customers have been coming down here for years to fish." These folk come armed not only with tackle and gear but also with money to be spent on food, lodging, fuel, bait, and more tackle (true fishermen can never have enough fishing tackle). Motels, hotels, B&B’s, restaurants, hardware stores, gas stations, and grocery stores all play host to the throng of seasonal fishermen who descend on the Eastern Shore. For towns such as Ocean City and Crisfield in Maryland, and Wachapreague in Virginia, this seasonal flush of saltwater anglers is an economic shot in the arm.
       
        In 1998 the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a report titled "Marine Angler Expenditure Survey in the Northeast Region." Their survey showed the aggregate level of fishing activity rising 57% since 1994. A more recent NMFS survey estimates over 4.1 million saltwater fishing trips from all "modes" (i.e. shoreline, private boat, charter, party) were conducted in one year in Virginia alone. The study concludes that $547 million was spent in 1998 in Virginia, which includes the Eastern Shore. Maryland, on the other hand, had spent over $695 million on saltwater fishing, with an average of $55 spent on daily boat use fees to a high of $700 per trip. Anglers surveyed on multi-day trips traveled as much as 2,800 miles to fish in Maryland.
       
        "Due to the quality and variety of recreational fishing opportunities, Maryland has the second highest level of expenditures by saltwater anglers in the Northeast Region. While significant as a statewide impact on the economy, it is even more significant to the coastal communities where much of this spending occurs. It’s a clear example of how a healthy environment in terms of fish habitat and resources translates into a healthy economy in terms of jobs and income," said Dr. Doug Lipton, a Sea Grant economist at the University of Maryland.
       
        What this means to local anglers and businesspeople is that saltwater recreational fishing is important to more than just those on the boats. "There definitely is an economic trickle-down effect,” Lipton says, “from regional sport fishing activity to many small businesses closely associated with providing services to the industry.” He adds, “We see this not only in waterfront towns, but also to businesses located along their travel routes to and from the fishing jump-off points." As long as fish make their annual seasonal migrations, then fishermen and women won’t be far behind, pumping dollars into the local economy.
       
        Next month: The Deep Lines of Fishing, Part II - How New Anglers Can Get Hooked

Related links:
Worcester County Tourism – http://visitworcester.org
Somerset County Tourism – http://visitsomerset.com
Wicomico County Tourism – http://wicomicotourism.org
Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce – http://esvachamber.org
Ocean City MD – http://ococean.com
       
        Charlie Petrocci is a maritime heritage researcher, writer, and lecturer living in Chincoteague, VA. He serves on the advisory board of the National Marine Charterboat Association.
       
        © University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 2005. All rights reserved.

 Additional Photos

Click here to enlarge Two anglers try wreck fishing off Chincoteague Island, VA in early spring. A chunky bluefish is one reward. Photo by Charlie Petrocci.

Click here to enlarge Four happy anglers show off a tuna at the dock of Sunset Marina in Ocean City. Daily weigh-in’s attract non-anglers too. Photo by Charlie Petrocci.

Click here to enlarge The Assateague Mobile Sportsman Show brings seminars and tackle from all over Delmarva to the civic center in Salisbury each spring. Photo by Charlie Petrocci.

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Room 2133 Richard A. Henson Center
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
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