The Economic Value of Water and Ecosystem Preservation

and the Laguna Madre estuary. 1 Separate analyses were conducted for each
estuary to estimate direct and total economic impacts of the recreation-related
and commercial fishing sectors.
In the TWDB definition of estuaries, some counties are included in more than
one estuary. Thus, a summary analysis was conducted separately to avoid
double counting and to estimate aggregate impacts. The summary analysis, for
the entire Texas Gulf Coast, calculated that the direct impact of total recreation
on the Gulf Coast was $867 million in 1995 (Jones and Tanyeri-Abur, 2001).
Additionally, commercial fishing in the bays contributed another $37 million, and
total commercial fishing added $175 million. It is estimated that bay and estuary
recreation-related sectors sales to final demand stimulated total regional
business sales of about $1.6 billion, personal income of $651 million, value
added of $999 million, and around 32,168 jobs in the Texas Gulf Coast region.
Impacts of commercial fishing in the bay contributed $57 million in total output,
$17 million in personal income, $40 million in value-added, and 1,190 jobs. The
impact for all of Texas was generally slightly higher, and commercial fishing in
the Gulf had an additional impact as well.
Specifically, the San Antonio Bay and Guadalupe Estuary support several
commercial and recreational fisheries. Commercial fishing in the area provides
over $20 million in revenue, supporting hundreds of jobs, while recreational
fishing also contributed thousands of dollars in revenue to the regional economy.
The TWRI study approximated recreational and travel spending related to the
Guadalupe Estuary, including recreational fishing and nature-based tourism, at
around $155 million in 1995 (Jones and Tanyeri-Abur, 2001).
4
In 2000, more than
4.9 million people participated in fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching in Texas
(US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service et al., 2003). Naturebased
tourism in the Guadalupe estuary alone generated $11 million in revenue
and created 275 full-time jobs (Jones and Tanyeri-Abur, 2001).
In addition to recreational and commercial fisheries, the Bay and Estuary
support a burgeoning nature-based tourism sector. The Aransas National Wildlife
Refuge hosts an array of wildlife, including alligators, javelina, snakes, bobcats
and the endangered whooping crane. Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
is often listed one of the top birding sites in North America (Konrad, 1996).
ANWR and Matagorda Island are also included as a part of the American Bird
Conservancy’s “Important Bird Areas Program (American Birding Conservancy,
2006).” Due to the high bird diversity and the presence of rare and endangered
species, Aransas is considered one of America’s top 50 birding locations. 2 The
Bay area is also part of the Great Texas Birding Trail and draws thousands of
bird enthusiasts each year. These activities are vital to the regional economy,
and they depend upon the health of the estuary and surrounding wetlands, which
requires freshwater inflows for its sustenance and conservation.
1 As individual units defined by Texas Water Development Board.
2 As selected by American Birding Association members at the 1994 Minot, ND convention.