ISSUE: Hunting and fishing

OUR VIEW: S.C., other states have strong reasons to promote

South Carolina's 595,000 hunters and anglers are among the most prominent and influential of all demographic groups, spending more than $1.8 billion a year on hunting and fishing, according to a new report.

"Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy -- A force as big as all outdoors" spotlights the impact hunters and anglers have on the economy at the national and state level.

In South Carolina, spending by hunters and anglers directly supports 32,700 jobs, which puts $839 million worth of paychecks into pockets of working residents around the state. Of course, government coffers also benefit -- spending by sportsmen in pursuit of these outdoor activities generates $182 million in state and local taxes. These latest figures demonstrate that season after season hunters and anglers are driving the economy from big businesses to rural towns, through booms and recessions.

"Because sportsmen enjoy hunting or fishing alone or in small groups, they are overlooked as a constituency and as a substantial economic force," said Jeff Crane, president of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation. "When you compare spending by hunters and anglers to other sectors, their impact on the state's economy becomes more tangible."

* South Carolina sportsmen support more jobs than Computer Sciences Corp., Siemens Diesel Manufacturing, the University of South Carolina and BMW Manufacturing combined (32,700 jobs vs. 28,500).

* Annual spending by South Carolina sportsmen is more than Greenville-based ScanSource -- one of the biggest companies in the state ($1.8 billion vs. $1.7 billion).

* South Carolina sportsmen annually spend more than the cash receipts from broilers, greenhouse/nursery, turkeys, cattle and cotton production -- the state's top five agricultural commodities ($1.8 billion vs. $1.3 billion).

* South Carolina sportsmen outnumber the populations of Columbia, Charleston, Rock Hill, Mt. Pleasant, Greenville, Sumter and Spartanburg (595,000 vs. 562,000).

* The economic stimulus of hunting and fishing equates to $4.8 million a day being pumped into the state's economy.

On the national level, 34 million sportsmen age 16 and older spent more than $76 billion in 2006, supporting 1.6 million jobs. If a single corporation grossed as much as hunters and anglers spend, it would be among America's 20 largest, ahead of Target, Costco and AT&T. And if all hunters and anglers had voted during the last presidential election, they would have equaled 31 percent of all votes cast. If all hunters and anglers living in South Carolina voted, they would have equaled 53 percent of all votes cast in the state.

As Crane states: "It is a fairly simple equation -- hunters and anglers mean jobs in states and local communities that have made the effort to maintain their hunting and fishing opportunities. The economic impacts that sportsmen have on state economies should be a wake-up call to state governments to welcome and encourage hunting and fishing in their state."

The report, "Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy -- A force as big as all outdoors" was produced by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation with support from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, National Marine Manufacturers Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation and SCI-First For Hunters. The report uses the results from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation and statistics provided by the American Sportfishing Association and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

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