Hunting and fishing in Louisiana aren’t just popular pastimes, they’re a $7.1 billion industry, said Bryant Hammett, secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and former district 21 representative.

Hammett, who was the keynote speaker at the Ferriday Chamber of Commerce’s monthly meeting Wednesday, said that he wants to make his department more visible.

The outdoor sports industry is responsible for 77,000 jobs statewide, and the sale of gear — for example, rods, reels or ammunition — generates more than $280 million in sales tax revenue, Hammett said.

However, none of that money goes to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, he said.

“Our primary source of revenue is through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses,” he said.

While the department does earn some money from oil and natural gas deposits in their Wildlife Management Areas, that money goes to a conservation fund, he said.

A decline in the sale of hunting licenses in recent years has led to a drop in revenue.

“We have to make up for lost revenues by borrowing from the reserves,” he said.

Costs in operation — mainly payroll concerns — have risen during the same time that revenues have decreased, Hammett said.

Hammett said that he was partially responsible for the falling revenues because of his time in the legislature.

“We decided to give free or discounted licenses to the handicapped, disabled veterans or seniors,” he said.

Those licenses alone would generate $4.2 million dollars if they were bought at full price, he said.

“Legislatively and politically, we’ll never take back those licenses,” he said.

Though the department does not draw any money from the state general fund, the legislature does seem willing to consider giving back sales tax revenue to the department, Hammett said.

While the number of hunting and fishing licenses being sold has declined, the non-hunting and fishing population utilizing the department’s revenue has increased.

“The birders, the kayakers, that sort of population is growing,” Hammett said.

“This is a business, and it could be a big part of the tourism push that Louisiana is doing,” he said.