11-45 

 Examples of Socioeconomic Environments in the Estuarine Zone 

 Almost all estuarine systems have either a multiplicity of uses at 

 the present time or such uses are available in the system. Estuaries 

 presently support such varied uses as military berthing and associated 

 activities, commercial port facilities, shipping channels, industrial 

 uses, commercial fisheries, sport fishing, recreation, wildlife 

 habitat, and purely aesthetic purposes. In most estuaries one or 

 two of the uses predominate while the others take minor roles. 



Narragansett Bay is an ideal example of an estuary that has developed 

 in an unbalanced fashion. That is, the economic value of the estuary 

 at the present time is largely associated with the industrial, military, 

 and transportation uses of its waters. Other uses are, of course, 

 made of the estuary but their economic significance is dwarfed by 

 the tremendous magnitude of the military and commercial uses. How- 

 ever, it must be remembered that this economic measure is merely an 

 indicator of the value of the waters and is not in any way related 

 to the right or necessity of pollutinq such waters in the process of 

 achieving this value. In fact, the only time that such an economic 

 measure would be used would be for comparing one total use of the 

 estuary to another total use. Of course, it is seldom that questions 

 are so broad as to cover either/or propositions for the entire 

 activity. Rather, the questions usually revolve around such things 

 as the benefits to be derived from reducing pollution caused by users 

 of the estuary compared with the costs of achievina the reduction in 

 pollution. 



