“to quantify the value of reef fish for two industries – fishing and tourism”

1. Future Of Reefs in a Changing Environment David Gill PhD Candidate “to quantify the value of reef fish for two industries – fishing and tourism”

2. FORCE: Future Of Reefs in a Changing Environment Future of Reefs in a Changing Environment

3. FORCE Objectives 1. Understand the threats to coral reefs and coastal communities in the Caribbean. 2. Understand how effective coral reef management has been in the past. 3. Develop new ways to address these threats and support coastal communities • 4. Share the findings with people in the Caribbean

4. FORCE: Future Of Reefs in a Changing EnvironmentBackground • FORCE is a 4-year, European Union (EU) funded, integrated research project • It brings together scientists from 20 organizations from the Caribbean, Europe, USA and Australia • This project takes an ecosystem approach, linking social and ecological aspects, towards managing Caribbean coral reefs in the face of climate change • Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), UWI is the leading Caribbean partner

5. FORCE Caribbean partners 20 Organisations: Caribbean, Europe, USA, Australia Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity (CARMABI) El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) Universidad NacionalAutónoma de México Universidad de Costa Rica University of the West Indies Utila Centre for Marine Ecology 

6. Research WP1: Governance of coral reefs WP2: Livelihoods & coral reefs WP3: Physical environments of Caribbean reefs WP4: Ecological status of coral reefs WP5: Ecological processes on coral reefs WP6: Impacts of climate change on corals Tools WP8: Ecosystem based fisheries & marine reserve design WP9: Evaluation of restoration methods for Caribbean corals Synthesis WP7: Integrated modelling of processes & drivers WP10: Evaluation of efficacy & constraints to management tools Dissemination Exploitation and dissemination of project results FORCE: Future Of Reefs in a Changing EnvironmentWork-Packages

7. Ecological Goods and ServicesCoral Reefs • Worldwide, over 100 countries have coral reef coastlines where millions depend on them directly and indirectly for their livelihoods and food security • Caribbean Reefs: • 26,000 km2 of shallow reef (~7% of world) protect 20% of coastline • net economic value US$3.1-4.6 billion from fisheries, dive tourism, and shoreline protection services annually (2000)

8. Ecological Goods and ServicesCoral Reef Fish Coral Reef Fish Provisioning Services Regulating & Supporting Services Cultural Services Spiritual Values Knowledge Systems and Educational Values Recreation & Ecotourism Food Employment Foreign Exchange Larval supply to neighbouring reefs Organic exchange between ecosystems Sand production Adapted from WRI 2009

9. Ecological Goods and ServicesReef Fishing in the Caribbean • Important source of protein for Caribbean coastal communities since pre-Columbian times • ~ US$375 million in net annual revenue • Supports artisanal fishery where few alternatives exist • Emergency food and revenue supply

10. Ecological Goods and ServicesTourism in the Caribbean • US$47 billion or 14% of GDP (2004) and 12% of total employment • Caribbean reefs attract over 25 million tourists annually • SCUBA divers account for 10% of all tourist arrivals • Generate approximately US$4.7 billion in gross revenue (2000) • Some research indicates that fish attributes may be more important to divers than coral

11. Current Threats to Reef FishHabitat Degradation • Significant declines: some reefs lost more than half their coral cover in the past 20 years • Globally, 19% of the original coral reef area effectively lost • potential loss of an additional 15-20% within the next half century under a ‘business as usual’ scenario (excluding climate change)

14. Current Threats to Reef FishHabitat Degradation • Caribbean Reefs significantly impacted by: • Land Based Pollution • Coastal Development • Physical Damage • Overfishing • Disease • Global Climate Change

15. Current Threats to Reef FishUnsustainable Fishing • decreased catch per unit effort • reduced abundance or absence of high value species (e.g. snapper and grouper) • reduced mean size of high value and other targeted species • increased proportion of lower valued species in catch (e.g. surgeonfish) • decline in the average trophic level on reef • increased algal/lower coral abundance due to reduced grazing pressure

16. Current Threats Impacts on Coastal Communities • Many of the Caribbean reef fisheries are currently fully or overexploited and in danger of collapse • Current declines in reef fisheries already are affecting many communities (reduced profits) • When natural disasters strike and food is scarce, often people turn to the reefs for food • By 2015, annual losses of US$95-140 million could be expected within Caribbean reef fisheries

17. Current Threats Impacts on Coastal Communities • Reef degradation can threaten the livelihoods and security of millions in the region • US$350 – US$870 million in annual economic losses could be expected from impacts to coral reef fisheries, dive tourism and shoreline protection services • Need for data on current and expected economic gains and losses associated with changes in reef fish resources

18. Economic Valuation • Economic valuation assesses the goods and services provided by an ecosystem which contribute to the wellbeing of human life (e.g. financial, social, biophysical) • Measures the value of what something is worth to people and placing them in monetary units • Within the context of reef fish, economic valuation involves the quantification and monetization of the benefits that are gleaned from the presence of reef fish • Does not derive an absolute value but a lower bound/minimum value (impossible to value all of nature)

19. Economic valuationWhy is this Relevant? • Understanding the economic context of natural resource use is an essential element in its successful management • Decision makers often consider the trade-offs that are involved with policy and more often than not, these trade-offs are measured in monetary units • To provide a strong case for reef conservation, economic valuation can be used to reveal how changes in a resource can affect the flow of benefits to people by placing them in comparable monetary units • With an understanding of the derived benefits from coral reefs, policy makers can become more aware of the revenue to be gained and expenses to be avoided by reef conservation

20. Economic Valuation Applications Cost-benefit analysis: examine whether or not the cost of management is justified by the prevention of loss of ecosystem services. Marine Spatial Planning: data on the intensity and value of extractive and non-extractive uses of reefs in each community Benefits Transfer: given the diversity of study sites being examined, the research can also provide data for benefits transfer values to be used in future valuation studies

21. Research Questions • What is the current economic value of reef fish to primary stakeholders in the fishing and dive industry within Caribbean coastal communities? 2. Given the uncertain future that Caribbean reefs face, how could changes in reef fish communities affect these values?

22. Research Framework Research Question 1 • Dive operator interview data Chapter 2 Economic value of reef-associated fishing • Collect and analyse economic data on reef fishing & dive industries Reef fishing interview data • Estimate economic values at multiple sites Chapter 3 Economic value of SCUBA diving industry Research Question 2 • Compare the relative values of extractive and non-extractive uses at sites Chapter 4 Economic implications of changes in reef fish populations Tourist diver interview data • Identify the key attributes of reef fish affect diver satisfaction and fishing effort Chapter 5 Management implications of changes in reef fish health • Biophysical/ ecological data on predicted fish stock changes • Predict changes in economic value of reef fish due to exogenous impacts

23. Methods

24. Economic ValuationComponents of Reef fish Value Total Economic Value Non-Use Value Use Value Indirect Use (sand production) Future Use (option/bequest value) Direct Use Existence Value Extractive Use (food) Non-Extractive Use (tourism & recreation) WRI 2009

25. Reef Fish Value: Fisheries & Dive TourismValuation Framework Direct Use Extractive Use (food) Non-Extractive Use (tourism & recreation) Total Economic Value Non-Use Value Use Value Indirect Use (sand production) Future Use (option/bequest value) Existence Value WRI 2009

26. Reef Fish Value: Fisheries & Dive TourismValuation Framework Market Value Dive Tourism Fishing Non-Market Value Non-Market Use Value (consumer surplus) Extractive Use (ex-vessel revenue) Non- Extractive Use ( diving revenue) Direct Use Value ESTIMATED ECONOMIC VALUE OF REEF FISH

27. Research MethodsMarket Valuation: Fishing Industry Fisher Data Instrument fishing effort costs and revenue space-use patterns market orientation perceptions of threats and changes in reef fish resources Demographics job satisfaction and alternative livelihoods contingent behavioural responses to changes in reef fish resources

28. Economic Valuation in the Caribbean • US$ 390 million (Burke et al. 2011) • US$ 286 million from spiny lobsters in 25 countries (2004 gross value: Chávez 2008)

29. Site Selection Research will attempt to capture some of the Caribbean diversity by conducting economic valuations in threecommunity types in 3 contrasting countries St. Kitts & Nevis Honduras Barbados

30. Sample Sizes • Over 300 fishers interviewed at 9 sites in the 3 countries • Financial analysis on commercial fishers only (n=219)

31. Results

32. Average Annual Yield

33. Average Annual Yield

34. Average Annual Yield

35. Average Annual Yield

36. Capital Equipment Boat and Engine

37. Capital Equipment Fishing Equipment

38. Trip Profits

39. Trip Profits

40. Trip Profits

41. Profits by Fisher Role

42. Economic value by Site

43. Economic value of Recreational Fishing

44. Discussion • Data on the extractive value of reef fish within 3 contrasting community types • Complexity of multi-gear, multi-species nature of fishery inhibits accurate valuation • Memory recall: missing data • Strategic bias • Large sample sizes needed for disaggregation • Nevertheless large value of reef-associated fishing to coastal communities demonstrated

45. Drivers of Economic Activity Variation between sites • Target species/ fishing regulations • Access to fishing grounds • Gear preference • Three major drivers of exploitation: • financial dependency • market access • food security

46. Drivers of Economic ActivityFinancial Dependency • Large percent of fisher’s income from reefs (especially in St. Kitts and Nevis) • Main source of income on Utila Cays where little employment alternatives exist • Social safety net for community and seasonal fishers • “Retirement” fishery in Barbados

47. Drivers of Economic Activity Market Access • Access to export and tourism markets appear to be main driver of exploitation, • Honduras: Utila Cays fishers are able maintain consistent level of product to be involved in the industrial industry • St. Kitts and Nevis: lobster and conch fishing effort linked to tourist season and peak exports • Markets mainly for large offshore pelagics species in Barbados

48. Drivers of Economic Activity Food Security • High subsistence values in many communities • Reef pelagic species play an important role in feeding communities • Extremely low prices (US$1.52/kg) • Utila Cay “exports” feed local poor population on Honduran mainland • Research should assess the status of these stocks that many depend on as a cheap source of protein

49. examine the response of fishers to hypothetical changes in the fish resource scenarios involving changes in the abundance and mean size of fish in catch (similar to those in diver choice model) Next StepsMarket Valuation: Contingent Behaviour

50. Next Steps • Comparative data on current use patterns and use value (between countries) • Comparative data on predicted use value (with changes in management and select fish attributes) • Information for policy on reef fisheries and dive tourism use and potential impacts of stressors