Angler Heterogeneity and Species-Specific Demand for Recreational Fishing in the Southeast United States* Tim Haab (Ohio State University) Rob Hicks (College of William and Mary) Kurt Schnier (University of Rhode Island) John Whitehead (Appalachian State University) AFS Annual Meeting, Lake Placid, NY, Sept , 2006 *MARFIN #NA06NMF

Targeting behavior Compare various angler targeting models single-species aggregates of related species all species combined Our research will consider:

Species substitution Estimate angler willingness to substitute to other species or species groups when fishing quality or fishing management changes

Our research will: Estimate how willingness to substitute species might differ by angler type socioeconomic factors preferences gear type (i.e., mode)

Our research will: Provide species- specific estimates of economic value for: changes in fishing quality management (e.g., size limits, bag limits)

To date: We have identified the feasibility of demand modeling at the species level Estimated a prototype single species demand model

MRFSS 2000 LA to NC n = 70,781 Southeast 2000 (Limited Valuation Round) n = 42,079 Hook and line trips only (99%), day trips only (67%), delete missing values on key variables n = 18,709 Targets a species n=11,257

Fishing mode

State of intercept

Species 425 unique species caught by recreational anglers sampled by the MRFSS 15 species account for 82% of the targeting activity and 38% of the (type 1) catch

Top 5 target species of interest Spotted seatrout23% Red drum20% Dolphin6% King mackerel6% Spanish mackerel4%

Species groups Big game4% Bottom fish4% Flat fish5% Small game11% Snapper - grouper15%

Target Behavior Any SpeciesDolphin signp-valuesignp-value Intercept+p <.01- Years fished+p <.01- Boat owner+p <.01+ Shore mode-p <.01 Charter mode-p <.01+ Days fished+p <.01- Wave 4--p <.01 Wave 5+p <.01- Wave 6+p <.01- Gulf-p <.01-

Random Utility Models Conditional Logit U = X’β + e Mixed Logit U = X’δ + ε + e

Dependent variables Travel cost [party/charter] TC = charter fee + driving costs + time costs [private/rental] TC = driving costs + time costs Predicted (type 1) catch rate Depends on 5-year historic (type 1) catch rate Big (20” or greater) Small (less than 20”) Historic big game catch rate Number of MRFSS interview sites in the county

Conditional/Mixed Logit Party/charter boat Eight counties Private/rental boat Ten counties

Conditional Logit Results Coefft-stat Travel cost Dolphin catch > 20" Dolphin catch < 20" Big game catch Log(number of sites) Number of observations = 685 Number of alternatives = 18 Number of cases = 12330

Mixed Logit Results Number of observations = 685 Number of alternatives = 18 Number of cases = Coefft-stat Travel cost Stand. Dev. of TC Dolphin catch > 20" Dolphin catch < 20" Big game catch Log(number of sites)

Economic value of one fish per trip ConditionalMixed Big (> 20”) Big + 1 sd Big - 1 sd77.48 Small (< 20”) Small + 1 sd26.42 Small - 1 sd10.52

Policy analysis About 1.3 million dolphin trips in east coast of Florida The welfare loss of new 20” size limit is about: $15/fish/trip x 1.3 million trips = $19.5m (=/- 1 sd: $33.8m, $14.3m) These costs could be compared to the benefits …

Future work Incorporate 1997 data Consider species substitution models for: Dolphin King mackerel Red drum Spanish mackerel Snapper-grouper Aggregate species groups Policy analysis: size limits, bag limits

Contact John Whitehead Department of Economics Appalachian State University Boone, NC

Nested Logit Party/charter Private/rental Eight counties Ten counties

Nested Logit Results Number of observations = 685 Number of alternatives = 18 Number of cases = Result Travel costOK Dolphin catch > 20"Not stat. sig. Dolphin catch < 20"OK Big game catchNot stat. sig. Log(number of sites)OK