I'm not sure how one would get those stats. I think one could (if businesses cooperated, and gave accurate data) compile sales figures from wholesale and retail (if they keep separate sales for marine and freshwater), and that would give you a dollar amount for direct sales. You would then have to factor in sales from canreef, kijiji, etc, plus peer to peer transactions. But then you would also have to add money spent at home improvement stores, or contractors. Then add the extra money spent on gas and electric. Complicated stuff, but it would be interesting to know the answer: what is the effect of the marine hobby on our GDP?
As to being able to figure out how many people/households are hobbyists I doubt you could ever get closer than a guess. But I'm curious what the guess would be? Mindy, how many people locally (Saskatoon, or provincial) would you guess are in the hobby?
- Ian
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