Improving the management of Taiwanese fishery resource conservation zones based on public perceptions and willingness to pay for ecosystem services

Marine ecosystems provide many services and benefits that directly or indirectly affect human welfare, and designating an marine protected area (MPA) is one of the management strategies for conserving marine ecosystem services. In Taiwan, 28 fishery resource conservation zones (FRCZs, one type of Taiwanese MPA) have been established since 1976, and two FRCZs in Yilan were selected as case studies for this research. Interviews and questionnaires were used to collect primary data, and then we employed factor analysis to determine what elements influence the perception of ecosystem services, and we also evaluated the respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP). The empirical results indicated that supporting services are the most important to the people in the study sites, followed by provisioning services. Ecosystem services can be divided into four major categories including ecological and educational services, provisioning services, regulating services and recreational services, and in this study, ecological and educational services accounted for the largest proportion of the perceived benefits. The perception of and WTP for ecosystem services are significantly different across socio-economic backgrounds. According to the findings of this research, government agencies need to adopt the ecosystem service concept; invest in improving the efficiency of management measures, such as ecological and environmental monitoring; develop eco-tourism and conduct environmental education and outreach; and establish an FRCZ fund to enhance financial sustainability.