A Travel Cost Demand Model for Recreational Snapper Angling in Port Phillip Bay, Australia

Abstract

A travel cost demand model was estimated for recreational angling for snapper Pagrus auratus in Port Phillip Bay based on an on-site expenditure survey conducted during the 1996–1997 season. The model explaining angling trip frequency was initially based on exploratory analysis and Fisher tests on variables including trip-specific expenditure and nonexpenditure factors. A final preferred Poisson count model was then estimated and used to calculate the annual angler surplus (Aus$7,100 per boat party) and the total benefits to the angling population ($128,000,000). The recreational and commercial sectors of the Port Phillip Bay snapper fishery are neither monitored by the same statistics nor valuated by the same methods. Considerable socioeconomic research is needed to calibrate the sectors in support of equitable harvest allocations.