IV-552 



The San Diego economy, although heavily dependent upon the military 

 and shipping activities in the Bay, has diversified to the extent 

 that it is no longer completely dependent upon such uses of the Bay. 

 At the same time there has been a growing demand for recreational 

 uses of the Bay. Evidence of the local resident's interest in the 

 Bay for recreation, tourism, and commerical uses can be found in 

 their willingness to invest substantial sums of money in facilities 

 to prevent pollution of the 3ay by municipal wastes. 



Mission Bay, a separate estuary in the San Diego area, is an example 

 of the recreational potential to be found in an estuarine system. 

 However, this special study points up the fact that the best use of 

 an estuary may not come about naturally. Rather, it shows that a 

 planned development program with adequate investments are necessary 

 to achieve optimal use of an estuary. 



Measures of Overall Value and Importance 



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 



