Fishery value of coral reefs in Bonaire (policy brief)

Policy Briefs:

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity on Bonaire 

The Challenge
Fishing provides an important source of income and livelihood on the Caribbean Island of Bonaire, also many people sh for recreational purposes. A large part
of the catch is composed of reef-dependent species, which rely on the health
and productivity of local coral reefs. To assist decision-makers in understanding
and managing these fragile ecosystems contributing to Bonairean well being the economic value of reef-dependent sheries is determined. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the economic value of the reef sheries is revealed to help decision makers understand which areas of reef are most economically important from
a sheries perspectives.

The Approach
By estimating the economic value of the reef sheries, which consists of both recreational and commercial shing, the total socio-economic value of reef shing
on Bonaire is estimated. Commercial shing is valued using the ‘net factor income approach’. The recreational value of the reef sheries is calculated using both the ‘choice modeling’ and the ‘market valuation’ method. The commercial and recreational values are combined to arrive at a total, annual reef- sheries value for the Island of Bonaire. This aggregate value is then combined with spatial sheries production data using ArcGIS to create a sheries value map of Bonaire.