Abstract
Seamounts provide oases of hard substrate in the deep sea that are frequently associated with locally enhanced biological productivity and diversity. There is now increasing recognition of their ecological and socio-economic importance. However, management strategies for these habitats are constrained not only by limited ecological understanding but by the general public’s understanding of the pressures facing these ecosystems. This study adds to the growing literature on willingness to pay for conservation of deep-sea ecosystems and species by undertaking a stated preference survey to assess tourist’s awareness of seamounts and their preferences for protection within the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Visitors’ perceptions of seamount biodiversity must be studied because tourists are key drivers of the Galapagos economy and account for 41% of the Marine Reserve budget. Our survey captured the attitudes, perceptions and willingness to pay of tourists for an increase in the entrance fee to the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Results showed tourists were willing to pay on average US$48.93 in addition to existing entrance fees. The results of this study support the willingness to develop a multiuse management plan for the Galapagos Marine Reserve, balancing conservation, local communities livelihoods and sustainable tourism. Our results evidence a willingness to support and fund conservation, which is of critical importance to both the Galapagos National Park and local non-governmental organizations heavily reliant for their work on entrance fees and donations respectively. Overall, the conclusion from this study is that, despite limited knowledge, visitors of the Galapagos Islands attach positive and significant values to the conservation of seamount biodiversity.
Highlights
Offshore seamounts are prevalent and pervasive underwater ecosystems and make up one of the largest biomes of the deep-sea (Staudigel et al, 2010; Wessel et al, 2010)
The use-values of seamount ecosystem services are important components to take into consideration for management, this study considers primarily the non-use values provided by Galapagos seamounts using a stated preference survey to understand visitors preferences for conservation of seamounts in the Galapagos (Gillespie and Bennett, 2011)
From a marine management perspective, we find that an integrative management plan was viewed as most favorable with 53% of respondents favoring this approach and respondents were willing to pay $25 more to fund a program with this focus, compared to either a tourism or research science-focused plan
Summary
Offshore seamounts are prevalent and pervasive underwater ecosystems and make up one of the largest biomes of the deep-sea (Staudigel et al, 2010; Wessel et al, 2010). Seamount habitats and biodiversity have gained increased academic interest because of their unique ecological and socioeconomic value (RamirezLlodra, 2020). They provide many ecosystem services that present use and non-use values to human populations such as fisheries, biodiversity and habitat conservation (for current and future generations), mining, pharmaceuticals and cultural and recreational values (Ressurreição and Giacomello, 2013). It is important to recognize that significant gaps remain in our current knowledge of global seamount ecology and biodiversity largely due to their depth and remoteness limiting research (Danovaro et al, 2020). The limited seamount communities surveyed to date and the lack of understanding of their ecological connectivity greatly impedes our assessment of the impacts of human activities on seamounts, as well as the effectiveness of management strategies (Morato et al, 2010; Clark et al, 2012)
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