COLOMBIA – South Carolina fishing and boat equipment manufacturers and resellers, seeking help in formulating laws and regulations affecting their industry, have formed a professional trade group to advocate with a unified voice.
The state of Palmetto is home to 27 boat manufacturers and two of the country’s largest fishing equipment brands – including Shimano’s North Charleston distribution center and Pure Fishing headquarters in Columbia – making it the largest unrepresented sector in the state said Gettys Brannon, CEO of the newly formed South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance.
Some priorities include reducing the property taxes that boat owners must pay for boats and engines, which they say will make boat ownership easier. They also want some of the funds from these taxes to be redirected to benefit sailors.
In addition, they are working to create technical education certificates to increase the potential boat-building workforce from state colleges.
While the group is still developing its legislative agenda, Brannon said he plans to push for conservation and drinking water policies, while advocating for more boat ramps, water access and industry expansion.
The organization has more than 30 member companies to date. He also plans to open members to the general public in the hope of garnering popular support for his initiatives.
Gettys Brannon, CEO of South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance. Provided.
“Few people realize that South Carolina is home to world famous brands for boating and fishing,” said Brannon. “We have a real opportunity because we are a big industry in the state.”
Boating and fishing had a $ 5.1 billion economic impact in South Carolina in 2019, according to the latest data from the American Sportfishing Association and the National Marine Manufacturers Association, and generated 23,000 jobs.
The value of goods made by boat and fishing manufacturers in South Carolina, according to the Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, increased at a faster rate – 8.4% – than that of Florida, considered the main nautical state of the parents.
South Carolina ranks seventh in the USA in terms of boat ownership, with one in 10 South Carolina residents having one. Major fishing spots, such as Lake Murray in the Midlands and Lakes Marion and Moultrie in the south, attract major national and international fishing tournaments. There are 725,000 fishing licenses in the state.
“South Carolina is nationally known for being a mecca for fishing and navigation. It is also home to some of the world’s most popular outdoor brands, “said Lee Gatts, Southeast Policy and Engagement Manager at the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
While the coronavirus pandemic has skyrocketed unemployment rates and large segments of the economy in a spiral, it has also increased the popularity of navigation as Americans tried to escape quarantine in the water.
Sailing peaked 13 years in 2020, with more than 310,000 new speedboats sold across the country – levels never seen since before the Great Recession, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
“Dealers can’t keep the boats because a lot of people are buying them,” said Brannon, and the industry wants to do what it can to keep its new customer base found.
Boat manufacturers in South Carolina are trying to hire about 20 to 150 workers each to meet demand, said Brannon.
“Each of them has workforce needs,” said Lisa Waller of Falcon Boats of Newberry, which includes her family’s small store for 30 people who could use five other workers.
But in the workforce aptitude test done by high school students in the state and referenced by mentors, there is no mention of making boats as a possible business, Waller said. The group wants to change that and explore the interest that young students may already have in boating and fishing.
Waller, a former education professor, is also helping to develop a specialized curriculum that could be taught at state technical colleges.
On the conservation side, the group said it had already participated – alongside Coastal Carolina University and the Flood Water Commission – in installing an artificial reef equipped with sensors to monitor marine life near Little River inlet.
There are plans for another reef in March. They also participated in a dive in the Cooper River in search of the teeth of the prehistoric shark megalodon.
When it comes to increasing the number of boat landings, the group plans to use its statewide reach to lobby for the placement of these ramps where they are most needed, especially along the coast and around the Charleston area.
“Access is one of our top priorities,” said Chris Butler, chairman of the alliance and owner of Butler Marine in Charleston and Beaufort. “Here, the boat is a big part of our lifestyle. We want the money spent by sailors to return to access.”