economy 

 of a 

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B. LOOE KEY ONSITE SURVEY 



The contribution of Looe Key to the economy of Monroe County can only be 

 approximated. All income and catch information from commercial fishermen and 

 income from commercial recreational businesses of Looe Key is only available 

 at the County or Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area level. To obtain a 

 more accurate socio-economic picture of the Looe Key area, NOAA undertook, 

 through a consultant (SGW), a time limited Looe Key Onsite Survey of human 

 activities and the estimated economic benefits to the Looe Key area from these 

 activities. The information from the survey presented below is a part of the 

 economically affected environment and was used in analyses to determine the 

 preferred alternative. 



Like the major portion of the Keys, the economy of the area near Looe Key 

 is heavily dependent on fishing and tourism. The Onsite Survey concluded that 

 commercial fishermen with home ports adjacent to Looe Key derive about 28 per- 

 cent of their annual catch from the 5 sq nm area surrounding the main Looe Key 

 reef. 



1. Commercial Fishing 



Using average 1978, Monroe County dockside prices computed by the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, the Onsite Survey results reported that the 1978 

 catch within the 5 sq. nm area at Looe Key was worth approximately $755,690 

 or $7,556.90 per boat/per year. The average annual income per boat for the 

 overall Looe Key area could thus be expected to be $27,000 in 1978 (see app. 

 C, Table 1,2). Comparing this figure based on actual information from the 

 survey interview schedules with the reported average 1976 income per boat in 

 Monroe County of $24,872 (Mathis et al 1979, Table 4), the Looe Key Onsite 

 Survey reported income/per boat was higher. The average survey reported 

 income for commercial fishermen from the Looe Key area was also higher than 

 the estimated income reported by the Lower Keys Chapter of Organized Fishermen 

 of Florida (OFF) at the public meetings in Big Pine Key, Florida. OFF testi- 

 fied, in January 1978, that the yearly catch value from the Looe Key area in 

 1978 ranged between $300,000 and $500,000. Survey information, as mentioned 

 above, reported $755,690 for just the 5 sq nm area or approximately $255,000 

 more than OFF's higher estimate. 



The differences between published data on fish catch value for Monroe 

 County, the OFF testimony and the Survey data may result from (1) having 

 overestimated the actual fishing boats at Looe Key, or (2) by inflated catch 

 value estimates on survey interview schedules The Survey results, however, 

 are well within the range of probability and appropriate for general economic 

 analysis. Of the estimated $755,690 earned in the 5 sq nm area or Boundary 

 Alternative #2, 61.7 percent came from lobster trapping, 14.5 percent from 

 wire fish trapping, 17.7 percent from hook and line, 5.6 percent from netting 

 and 5 percent from trapping Stone Crab. 



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