What 'sport'? the lochs I fish have been there since the ice age and when I go I don't take part in a sport, I just go fishing, I don't need an industry to do that.
You very much need educating, my learned friend, all in the best of nature and intention.
Fishing is the ancient craft of catching fish for consumption or processing and if you want to go fishing you would be better off with a Cast or Seine net, trots or long line, traps or trawl and drift nets, they are much better at catching fish than a rod and line, you are then by definition a fisherman and have gone fishing.
If you return the fish you catch on a rod and line, it is most definitely Sport and you become an Angler- which to me and many on here, is a way of life.
There is a very obvious and distinct difference. I don’t need to go Angling other than for personal enjoyment, a fisherman has to go, to feed his family and also make a living and possibly risk life and limb in the process.
The actual act of having a rod and line in your hand, or in your rod rest is only a small part of being an Angler:- travel, the environment it takes you to, the collecting and ownership of tackle the companionship or solitude, the fishy tales, the photographs, the taxidermy, the art work, the tying your own flies and building your own rods, is all part of the Sport of Angling, tackle suppliers are the lifeblood of our Sport, often owning extensive fishing rights, that we can hire or arranging trips at home and overseas for us, many local to me have Charter boats too for Sea Angling trips. I have many really good friends in the Angling supply industry, that have given me lessons, advice on obtaining fishing rights and new equipment to try foc for feedback, as well as an awful lot of tackle over the years.
You need to read The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton and the Keeper of the Stream by Frank Sawyer, both of which I have second edition and first editions of, it might help you understand what an Angler vs a fisherman is.
We most definitely do need a tackle supply and Angling industry, a conversation between yourself and my good friend Chris Yates would be very beguiling!