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The counties bordering Lake Ontario receive a $60 million economic boost from tourist anglers, but Monroe County is only capturing a fraction of that. Read the letter.
Every year thousands of fish move from Lake Ontario and enter the Genesee River to feed and spawn. The first few days of September trigger the frenzy that lasts all winter for the dedicated angler such as me. First the salmon come blitzing through until they reach the Lower Falls where they will spawn and die returning nutrients to the river. They are followed shortly after by hungry brown trout and steelhead looking for easy meals of salmon eggs floating downstream before they themselves spawn; however, these fish return to the river year after year. Make no mistake there is a world class fishery running straight through our city and with it millions of dollars each year.
According to a 2009 report the counties bordering Lake Ontario are receiving a $60 million economic boost from tourist anglers (those not living in the county where they fished). However, Monroe County is only capturing a ghastly 3.5% of this. There are two other counties that contain similar sized fisheries capable of matching/exceeding the world class experience the Genesee River offers. Orleans County, home to Oak Orchard River, is capturing 7% of this boost and Oswego County, home to the Salmon River and Oswego River, is capturing a staggering 36% of this. A more recent 2017 study conducted by the NYDEC on the economic impact of anglers at waterbodies confirmed proportionate results.
8,842 anglers at the Genesee River boost economic output by nearly $8 million (only $957,000 from anglers out of state anglers) and create 47 jobs. Anglers spend an average of $5.95 a day at the river and spend 86,000 days fishing. Only 5,000 of those days are spent by out of state anglers. 61% of anglers are satisfied with the fishing.
7,502 anglers at the Oswego River boost economic output by over $7 million ($4 million from out of state anglers) and create jobs 44 jobs. Anglers spend an average of $8.96 per day and spend 92 thousand days fishing. Nine thousand days are spent by out of state anglers. 51% of anglers are satisfied with the fishing.
13,983 anglers at Oak Orchard River boost economic output by just over $16 million and create 164 jobs. Anglers spend an average of $36 a day at the river and spend 80,000 days fishing; 38,000 of these days are spent by out state anglers. 58% of anglers are satisfied with the fishing.
43,389 anglers at Salmon River boost economic output by over $73 million and create 380 jobs. Anglers spend an average of $55 per day and spend 287,000 days fishing. A whopping 110,000 of these days are spent by out of state anglers. 62% of anglers are satisfied with the fishing.
To find out why the Genesee River ranks so low among its peers all you must do is google each waterbody followed by fishing. Googling Oak Orchard fishing or Salmon River fishing will return you with the magic words World Class Fishing right there in the top five results. In addition, you will see pictures of monster salmon and trout, websites for lodging, information about fishing access, and fishing reports. While googling Genesee River fishing returns you with scattered information about species in the river and directs you to the only two public fishing sites with no explanation of how to navigate down gorge to the river from the parking lot. It is important to keep in mind that fishing is a large percentage of the economy surrounding the Salmon River and Oak Orchard. They have built their towns and cities around it creating an experience for anglers. Lodges, hotels, tackle shops, restaurants, convenience stores are all reliant on the boom of tourist anglers they bring in every year. It would be foolish to build our city around a seasonal industry like they have done. However, it would be extremely unreasonable to just ignore such an industry like we have done when we could be capturing a large part of it for a low cost.
Millions of dollars have been invested into the Genesee River in the past decade to various projects but none of it has been invested into key areas that would attract anglers and revenue into our city. The number one improvement that is needed is better public access to the river. Currently there are only two access sites straddling either side of the Driving Park Avenue Bridge. The Seth Green Rd access site is paved for most of the way and offers a relatively easy walk down the gorge to the river; however, the Maplewood Park side requires anglers to traverse down a treacherous steep mud path that anyone over 30 should be weary of. It has been this way for at least 20 years despite millions being invested into the river. The next step is promotion of the river for what it is a world class salmon and trout fishery right here in Rochester with the goal of attracting tourist fishermen. At the very least those living in Rochester should know of the strength of the fishery. Initially the city and county will have to burden the cost of this; however, the returns clearly outweigh the cost.
First these two critical steps must be completed, and then further evaluation can be made on how to progress. These two very focused investments would at the very least allow us to unlock this resource and begin tapping into the angling/angler tourism industry. This can be and should have been included in the $50 million ROC the Riverway plan that is aimed at “revitalizing our economy” and “attracting new jobs” as it does just that. It is time for officials to stop ignoring a multimillion-dollar industry that will bring much needed jobs, diversify our industry, and create a revenue stream for further projects.
Matthew Chapell
Fairport
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