Understanding Anglers’ Willingness to Pay Under Alternative Management Regimes

Contingent valuation methods were used to estimate the net economic benefits of the recreational fishing experience for Atlantic bluefin tuna in Hatteras, North Carolina. We sought to understand anglers’ differential willingness-to-pay (and selected predictor variables) under various management scenarios that were more or less restrictive compared to status quo regulations. A mail survey was sent to anglers intercepted on site. Logistic regression was used to estimate the probability of a “Yes” response to a given set of management conditions and associated management costs (price). Estimates of the current catch management regime were valued from US $344 to $707 per year. Management scenarios that restricted angler flexibility (i.e., catch and release), were valued slightly lower than less restrictive catch management scenarios. This article discusses how willingness to pay estimates can be used to understand the relative values for users, recreational and commercial, of the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery.