IV-246 



SECTION 4. MEASURES OF VALUE AND IMPORTANCE 

 OF THE ESTUARINE ZONE 



The discussions of values of individual uses and the case studies 

 of specific estuarine systems present a confusing picture of the 

 relationship of estuarine uses to economic indicators. 



Estimates of the direct gross economic benefit of the estuarine 

 zone to the residents of the coastal counties can be made. The 

 estimates of economic activity generated by the presence of 

 Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island give a conservative annual 

 economic benefit of $920 per capita, $420 of this in personal 

 income. Average personal income for all of the coastal counties 

 is, according to Bureau of the Census figures, $500 per capita 

 greater than the average for the remainder of the country. The 

 total economic activity generated by this additional personal 

 income then amounts to about $1,100 per person, using the 

 Narragansett Bay multiplier values. 



The total direct economic benefit of the estuarine zone to the 

 residents of the coastal counties is then about 60 billion 

 dollars in terms of additional economic activity stimulated by 

 the presence of estuarine systems. This is not a measure of the 

 total economic activity of the estuarine zone, but only of the 

 "value added" to the total economic activity of the coastal 



