Last week, former President — and 2024 presidential candidate — Donald Trump visited National Marine Manufacturers Association member Sportsman Boats as part of his presidential campaign activities in South Carolina. The former president toured the facility alongside the South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance, an organization comprised of South Carolina-based boating and fishing businesses.
This event was one in an ongoing series organized by the SCBFA to bring all Republican presidential candidates and President Biden to meet with South Carolina boating business leaders in this early primary state. Given recreational boating’s $6.5 billion economic impact in the state, supporting 27,000 jobs, Trump highlighted the importance of the industry in South Carolina to both the local and national economy.
With access being a critical area of focus for the recreational boating community, following a briefing from South Carolina boating businesses, Trump included in his remarks comments on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s proposed vessel speed restrictions — a proposal that’s garnered bipartisan concern due to severe restrictions posed to Americans’ access to public waters, significant boater safety issues, and lack of data-backed solutions for protecting the North Atlantic right whale.
NMMA thanked Sportsman Boats and the South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance for their work to host presidential candidates, helping draw attention to the significant contributions of recreational boating to the U.S. economy and the issues threatening the industry’s impact in the state and across the country.
As the presidential campaign picks up pace, NMMA will continue collaborating with its members and its boating and fishing association partners, to educate all campaigns on recreational boating in the U.S.
Recreational boating and fishing community stakeholders are encouraged to continue voicing concerns with NOAA’s proposed rule expansion. Industry stakeholders can take action today on Boating United.
