Many believe that the Covid-19 virus inspired people not to congregate with large groups of people in fear of catching the virus. Many went to their fishing rods, hunting firearms and binoculars for wildlife watching, to enjoy the outdoor activities in 2022.

The 2022 survey, taken by the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Watching, revealed that hunting and fishing contributed $1.45 billion dollars to the nation’s economy while Wildlife watching contributed another $250 billion dollars.

The survey also said that 39 million Americans aged 16 years and older participated in recreational fishing, and 14 million Americans aged 16 years and older participated in recreational hunting.

During the same period, 148 million people participated in wildlife watching. 46 million people aged six and older participated in target shooting, and another 19 million people aged six and older participated in archery. 

Usually, the survey is finalized and published every 5 years. However, the Covid-19 virus of 2020 delayed the report until this fall. It is commonly believed that the virus-inspired lockdowns and closures resulted in more people going to outdoor activities, where they experienced greater outdoor opportunities since fewer folks were either spectators or participants in organized sports activities before the virus.

Martha Williams, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said, “Our 2022 survey findings stand out over all the rest for one reason, the number of hunters, anglers, boaters, and wildlife watchers who were questioned about their participation, was the largest of any other prior survey.”

Just how significant the 2022 numbers were can be seen by comparing them with the figures from previous reports. In the 2016 survey, for example, 39.9 million Americans aged 16 and older fished. 11.5 million hunted and 86 million Americans aged 16 and older watched wildlife. 

Williams and others said the 2022 survey numbers reflect the most anglers, hunters and wildlife watchers in the past 30 years, which has been conducted since 1955. 

The 2016 survey report showed that overall, fishing, hunting and wildlife watching contributed about $157 billion to the economy. However, the 2022 survey showed that figure to be $395 billion. 

The 2022 survey report tells us that anglers spent $99.4 billion, hunters spent $45.2 billion, and wildlife watchers spent $250.2 billion. By comparison, the 2016 survey report showed that anglers spent $46.1 billion, hunters spent $26.2 billion, and wildlife watchers spent $76 billion.

Coyote Contest

Just a reminder that the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, NY will be holding their coyote contest on February 2, 3 and 4, 2024. Most likely this will be their last coyote contest, since the Governor of New York signed the bill to ban coyote contests in the state of New York. The ban will go into effect in November 2024. Coyote hunters, don’t miss this one!