Recreational fishing is a major recreational pursuit and industry in Iowa and the adjacent six states. Fishing licenses in Iowa generate more than $8 million a year. In Wisconsin and Minnesota, the biggest fishing states of the region, fishing licenses generate more than $30 million a year. Each of the states have programs to monitor waters and the health of fish stocks, but the efforts vary widely.
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Iowa and Adjacent States - Fishing Industry
| STATE | Population | Total Fishing License, Tags, Permits & Stamps** | Paid Fishing License Holders* | Resident Fishing Licenses, Tags, Permits and Stamps | Non-Resident Fishing Licenses, Tags, Permits and Stamps | Cost - Resident Fishing Licenses, Tags, Permits and Stamps | Cost - Non-Resident Fishing Licenses, Tags, Permits and Stamps | Gross Cost - Fishing Licenses | Percentage of Fishing License Gross Revenue Generated by Residents | State Fishing License Gross Revenue per capita | Current (2018) Fishing advisories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 3,146,000 | 396,401 | 367,364 | 346,766 | 49,635 | $6,839,744 | $1,216,336 | $8,056,080 | 84.90% | $2.56 | Mercury and PCBs: 22 advisories |
| Missouri | 6,113,532 | 1,293,331 | 784,224 | 1,132,249 | 161,082 | $9,408,109.00 | $3,439,424.00 | $12,847,533.00 | 73.23% | $2.10 | PCBs, chlordane, mercury, lead: 12 advisories on specific bodies of water in MO (incl. one statewide advisory) |
| South Dakota | 869,666 | 237,311 | 232,269 | 151,601 | 85,710 | $3,507,343.00 | $3,732,211.00 | $7,239,554.00 | 48.45% | $8.32 | Mercury (but says test "for metals, pesticides, and PCBs"): 22 advisories |
| Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 419,138 | 230,020 | 345,072 | 74,066 | $4,989,021.00 | $926,134.00 | $5,915,155.00 | 84.34% | $3.08 | Methylmercury an Polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs): 141 waterbodies (13 stream segments and 128 lakes) |
| Illinois | 12,802,023 | 782,918 | 686,717 | 729,818 | 53,100 | $7,970,402.00 | $1,185,817.00 | $9,156,219.00 | 87.05% | $0.72 | Chlordane, dioxin, methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): 103 water bodies with one or more advisories |
| Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,816,156 | 1,410,153 | 1,351,947 | 464,209 | $27,965,735.00 | $11,411,670.00 | $39,377,405.00 | 71.02% | $6.79 | Mercury, PCBs, dioxins, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS): 145 |
| Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,623,871 | 1,447,089 | 1,287,788 | 336,083 | $22,158,635.00 | $10,090,967.00 | $32,249,602.00 | 68.71% | $5.78 | Mercury, PCBs, Perfluorochemicals (PFCs): 386 |
© 2019 Science in the Media. Research assistance by Cecilia Cerja and Christine Reis