Valuing coastal fisheries and seagrasses: A case study of estuarine resources on Florida's Nature Coast

This study uses a choice experiment survey of 1002 Florida residents and visitors to estimate willingness to pay for environmental programs leading to changes in populations of recreationally and economically important fish (red drum, seatrout, snook) and abundance of seagrass on Florida's Nature Coast. We estimate a series of random parameter logit models and conduct a latent class analysis to explore heterogeneity in preferences. Our results suggest that respondents are willing to pay to prevent declines in populations and abundance of all four aquatic resources. However, respondents are only willing to pay for increases in spotted seatrout and seagrasses. Our analysis further shows that female respondents, individuals with a bachelor's degree or higher, and those who have visited or fished on the Nature Coast are more likely to pay for an environmental program to improve environmental conditions. These results inform resource management decisions aimed at preserving estuarine and coastal resources on the Nature Coast and similar regions worldwide threatened by the negative impacts of human activities and climate change.