title: A revealed preference approach to valuing non-market recreational fishing losses from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
abstract: At an estimated 206 million gallons, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) is the largest marine oil spill in the history of the United States. In this paper we develop a series of random utility models of site choice by saltwater anglers in the Southeast US and estimate monetary compensation for recreational losses due to the DWH oil spill. Heterogeneity in angler preferences is accounted for by using mixed logit models, and different compensation measures for shore-based, private boat, and for-hire anglers are estimated. Results indicate that willingness to pay for oil spill prevention varies by fishing mode and anglers fishing from shore and private boats exhibit heterogeneous preferences for oil spill avoidance. In addition, the total monetary compensation due to anglers is estimated at USD 585 million.
authors.affiliation: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 400 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0800, USA; University of Florida, P.O. Box 110240, Gainesville, FL 32611-0240, USA. Electronic address: sergio.alvarez@freshfromflorida.com.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, P.O. Box 110240, Gainesville, FL 32611-0240, USA. Electronic address: slarkin@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Sherry L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Larkin
authors.affiliation: Appalachian State University, 3102 Raley Hall, Boone, NC 28608-2037, USA. Electronic address: whiteheadjc@appstate.edu.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Whitehead
authors.affiliation: The Ohio State University, 103 Agricultural Administration Building, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. Electronic address: haab.1@osu.edu.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haab
mesh_terms: D005398:Fisheries / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000191:economics*; D011998:Recreation / Q000191:economics; D015144:Southeastern United States
keywords: Deepwater Horizon; Non-market valuation; Oil spills; Random utility model; Recreational fishing; Revealed preference