Economic Valuation of the Chinook Salmon Sport Fishery of the Gulkana River, Alaska, under Current and Alternate Management Plans

Abstract

ABSTRACf. This paper extends the standard travel cost method (TCM) to develop estimates of the economic value of recreational chinook salmon fishing on the Gulkana River, Aklska, under exist­ ing and hypothetical fishery management condi­ tions. Respondents were asked to state how the number of trips that they took to the study area would change if alternative fishery management practices were imposed. Three hypothetical manage­ ment conditions were considered: a doubled 1992 sport fish haroest, a doubled daily bag limit, and a season bag limit of five. Each of the hypothetical fishery management conditions provides increased economic returns to anglers. (JEL Q21) L INTRODUCTION The first commercial fishery on the Cop­ per River system in Alaska was established in 1889. By the 1920s, commercial fishing had become the dominant use. Eighty to ninety percent of the chinook (Oncor­ hynchus tshawytscha) and sockeye (0. nerka) salmon harvested from the Copper River system in recent years have been taken in the commercial fishery. The balance of the catch is divided among three user groups: subsistence, personal use, and sport. The sport fishery primarily targets chinook salmon. 1 The chinook salmon range from 20 to 60 pounds and are prized for their vigorous fighting abilities. The Alaska De­ partment of Fish and Game (ADF&G) estimates that 98 percent of the Copper River Basin chinook sport fish harvest oc­ curred on the Gulkana and Klutina Rivers, and that 93 percent. of the effort occurs on the Gulkana River alone (Whitmore and Vincent-Lang 1991). This paper examines three issues relating to the Gulkana River chinook salmon sport fishery. First, we use a travel cost model to develop a benchmark measure of the eco­ nomic benefits generated by the chinook salmon sport fishery on the Gulkana River under current management policies. Next, we estimate the change in benefits to the sport fishery that would have resulted from an increase in chinook abundance. Not only does the abundance of chinook salmon vary naturally, but the number of chinook avail­ able to the sport fishery could also be in­ creased (reduced) by reducing (increasing) commercial catches. Finally, we estimate the change in benefits to the sport fishery from changes in sport fishing regulations, holding chinook abundance constant. Anglers are currently restricted to one fish per day and one in possession with no season limit. We examined two alternative bag limit regula­ tions. The first alternative would hold an­ glers to a five-fish season bag limit, but would not impose daily bag limits. 2 The second alternative would liberalize the daily bag limit to two chinook per day and two in possession but would not impose a season bag limit. Fisheries managers are interested in stock abundance, catches, and angler days (effort), because these are the variables that they traditionally measure. Resource economists have traditionally focused on measures of consumer's surplus. The traditional travel cost method has been useful for measuring