As the number of persons in the Lower Keys increases, it is likely that 

 the amount of human activity at Looe Key will increase. In addition, with 

 the increasing popularity of SCUBA diving and snorkeling, it can be assumed 

 that the number of persons diving at Looe Key will increase. 



B. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS 



The economic base of Monroe County has four main elements: (1) tourism 

 (2) commercial and sport fishing, (3) retirement and second home communities, 

 and (4) Federal government operations (military). The remaining segments of 

 the economy center around wholesale and retail trade, services, light industry, 

 trades and government. 



Of the nearly 19,500 persons (1976) in the civilian labor force, approx- 

 imately 40 percent were employed by businesses servicing the over 1 million 

 tourists a year that visit the Florida Keys. The majority of this income is 

 seasonal with peak periods from December to May (Monroe County Statistics, 

 1979). 



Looe Key is widely used by commercial fishermen, public charter boat 

 operators, dive boats, recreational divers and fishermen, and educational 

 enterprises in the lower Florida Keys. 



Recreational skin diving has become a significant commercial industry 

 in the Keys in recent years. According to the Skin Diver Magazine , 1979 

 Reader Survey, 38.8 percent of skin divers (snorkelers and SCUBA divers) 

 traveled to other States to dive. Of that 38.8 percent, 35.6 percent trav- 

 eled to the Florida Keys in Monroe County. The median amount per diver 

 spent in 12 months on diving trips, according to the survey, was $442.00; 

 the average $718.00. Although expenditures of this nature, Ue- , travel, 

 equipment purchases, are not entirely spent in the Monroe County region, 

 some, at least, of the income from these trips is realized by the local 

 economy. 



In the last fifteen years, pleasure boat registration almost quadrupled 

 to 8,121 boats in Monroe County. Commercial boat registration rose by a 

 third in the same fifteen years to 2,749 boats. If these trends continue, 

 future human use of the area and all the Keys is much more likely to have a 

 recreational orientation than a commercial one (Mathis^^, p. 7, 1979). 



The commercial fishing industry is an important source of income and 

 employment. In 1976, Monroe County ranked first in fish and shellfish 

 landings in Florida with fish catch valued at $23,605,000. Of that amount, 

 $19,965,000 came from shellfish and $3,640,000 from fish. Over 18 percent, 

 or about 28 million pounds, of the commercial fish landings in Florida in 

 1978 were brought into County docks. The 1978 value of Monroe County landings 

 was about $38 million, or nearly 42 percent of the total value for commercial 

 fish in Florida (Monroe County Statistics, 1979). 



The continuously increasing population of retirees is not a major influence 

 on the area's economy because most live on fixed incomes (Monroe County 

 Statistics 1979, p.F-1). However, they, and the growing number of second 

 home owners, are the primary stimulus for the relatively small construction 

 industry in the Keys. 



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