Valuation Issues in an Urban Recreational Fishery: Spring Chinook Salmon in Portland, Oregon
Journal article by Robert Berrens, Bergland Olvar, Richard M. Adams; Journal of Leisure Research, Vol. 25, 1993
Journal Article Excerpt
Valuation issues in an urban recreational fishery: spring Chinook salmon in Portland, Oregon. by Robert Berrens , Bergland Olvar , Richard M. Adams Introduction In the Pacific Northwest, salmon are important economically and culturally, providing recreational, commercial and aesthetic benefits to a diverse constituency. The interaction of long term declines in salmon stocks (due to habitat degradation, dams, and over-fishing), increasing recreational demands for those stocks, manifested in increased congestion, and the traditional importance of Native American and commercial fishing interests create complex management problems. Legislation and judicial decisions mandate certain allocations (e.g., Native American treaty rights). However, estimates of the economic benefits of salmon across different locations and in various uses are useful input to the societal debate regarding other competing uses. The "marginal value of a fish" is context-dependent; the status of the stock, the distinction between hatchery and wild fish, the distinction between use and non-use activities, institutional structure (e.g., property rights and entitlements), and the specific setting of a survey all affect marginal values. It is important that marginal valuations exist across this broad array. The objectives of this study were (1) to test for the effects of congestion on the demand for recreational fishing in an urban setting, and (2) to determine willingness to pay for increases in fish numbers and the marginal value per fish (MVF) in that setting. The contingent valuation method (CVM) using a payment card format was applied to recreational demand for spring chinook salmon fishing on the Willamette and Clackamas Rivers in the greater Portland, Oregon area. Despite long-term declines in total salmon in the Columbia system, the Willamette River spring chinook population, largely dependent upon hatchery production, is currently at a record high level. The stock is subject to both recreational and commercial fishing. The Willamette River flows through Portland, a metropolitan area of over two million people. Most of the recreational fishing occurs in or near Portland. Thus, the fishery is essentially urban. The Willamette Run of Spring Chinook An annual spring chinook salmon run bound for the Willamette River enters the Columbia River in mid-January. In the Portland area, the run peaks in March and tapers off into May. The fish are sought by recreational anglers for both table fare and fighting ability. The lower Willamette run is also noteworthy because its 48 mile stretch passes through the Portland metropolitan urban area. The recreational fishery in this dense urban setting is characterized by highly congested conditions; this includes a "hog-line" phenomenon where boats are strung in a line, side by side, in areas where fish are expected to congregate. The allocation of the Willamette run of the spring chinook fishery is split between two groups; commercial gillnetters on the lower Columbia River and the recreational anglers on the Columbia River, Willamette River, and its tributaries. Currently, there is no Native American fishery for Willamette-bound spring chinook stocks. The larger allocation choice is between the total harvest and escapement (to the upper reaches of the Willamette and its tributaries) for production. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is responsible for these allocation decisions. Since 1981, 24% of the estimated run is allocated to the commercial gillnetting industry and 76% to recreational users. The gillnet fishery is controlled through the imposition of catch quotas on the Willamette-bound run of spring chinook. Only a winter season (mid-January to mid-February) is allowed for the commercial sector. For recreational anglers, the Willamette River and its tributaries have never been closed by quotas; early season closures have occurred on the Columbia mainstem as part of stock management on spring chinook runs other than the Willamette run (Davis & Radtke, 1989). The ODFW has an established goal of an annual average minimum run size of 100,000 fish entering the Columbia. The 1976-1985 average was 63,500 (Carter & Radtke, 1986). However, the fish run, which is roughly 75% dependent upon hatchery production, has been increasing. The target goal was achieved for the first time in 1988 (Bennett, 1989). Related Literature on CongestionResearch on the interaction between congestion and recreational benefits includes a variety of modeling approaches. Techniques include the household production function (e.g., Deyak & Smith, 1978), the travel cost method (Wetzell, 1977), and the contingent valuation method (Cicchetti & Smith, 1973; McConnell, 1977; Prince & Ahmed, 1988; Walsh et al., 1983). The simplest hypothesis is that congestion or crowding levels will be related inversely to an individual's willingness to pay for a recreational experience. In an early analysis, Fisher and Krutilla ... |
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