Wanted Dead or Alive?

Arguments for conservation of sharks based on their role in the maintenance of healthy marine ecosystems have failed to halt a worldwide decline in populations of these top-order predators. This decline is driven by the economic value of sharks as a fishery and the growing market for shark fin products. An alternative approach for conservation stresses the economic value of sharks as a focus of dive tourism. In this context, sharks may have a greater value as a non-harvested resource than as a fishery. Our study quantified the economic benefits of the shark-diving industry to the community and Government of Palau. A series of questionnaires were used to survey the demographics, income and expenditure of divers visiting Palau, the markets, income and expenditures of dive tour operators and the income and interactions with shark fishers. The results of these questionnaires and recent statistics of tourism and revenues published by the Government of Palau were used to calculate the contribution of shark diving. The shark-diving industry attracts 8,600 divers each year or approximately 21% of the divers visiting Palau. The value of sharks to the Palauan economy was estimated to be US$18 million per year, accounting for approximately 8% of the gross domestic product of Palau. An individual reef shark in Palau was estimated to have an annual value of US$179,000 and a life-time value of US$1.9 million to the tourism industry. The annual income in salaries paid by the shark-diving industry to the local community was estimated to be US$1.2 million. The annual tax income to the Government of Palau generated by shark diving was estimated to be US$1.5 million or 14% of the business tax revenue. A fishery targeting the same 100 sharks that are interacting with the tourism industry in Palau would obtain a maximum of US$10,800, or 0.00006% of the life-time value of these animals as a non-consumptive resource. VALUE OF REEF SHARKS IN PALAU VIANNA ET AL. iv The tax revenues collected from shark diving were roughly 24 times higher than those from the fishing industry. The creation of the shark sanctuary could play an important role on the selection of Palau as a diving destination by tourists. WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE? The relative value... (PDF Download Available)

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Socio-economic value and community benefits from shark-diving tourism in Palau

Socio-economic value and community benefits from shark-diving tourism in Palau: A sustainable use of reef shark populations

Authors: G.M.S.Vianna, M.G.Meekan, D.J.Pannell, S.P.Marsh, J.J.Meeuwig 

Arguments for conservation of sharks based on their role in the maintenance of healthy marine ecosystems have failed to halt the worldwide decline in populations. Instead, the value of sharks as a fishery commodity has severely reduced the abundance of these animals. Conservation may be assisted by the development of an alternative approach that emphasizes the economic value of sharks as a non-harvested resource.

Our study quantifies the value of a tourism industry based on shark diving. Using data collected from surveys, as well as government statistics, we show that shark diving is a major contributor to the economy of Palau, generating US$18 million per year and accounting for approximately 8% of the gross domestic product of the country. Annually, shark diving was responsible for the disbursement of US$1.2 million in salaries to the local community, and generated US$1.5 million in taxes to the government. If the population of approximately 100 sharks that interact with tourists at popular dive sites was harvested by fishers, their economic value would be at most US$10,800, a fraction of the worth of these animals as a non-consumptive resource. Fishers earn more selling fish for consumption by shark divers than they would gain by catching sharks.

Shark diving provides an attractive economic alternative to shark fishing, with distribution of revenues benefiting several sectors of the economy, stimulating the development and generating high revenues to the government, while ensuring the ecological sustainability of shark populations.

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