330 



uses must compete, and it should be considered along with them in the 

 overall economic evaluation of estuarine uses. 



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 devel- 

 oped 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. 

 However, 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 polluting 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 usuallj^ revolve around such things as the bene- 

 fits to be derived from reducing pollution caused by users of the estu- 

 ary compared with the costs of achieving the reduction in pollution. 



Franklin County, Fla., is dependent upon pollution-free waters in 

 Apalachicola Bay for its economic existence. The unpolluted waters 

 of the bay provide the seafood caught by local commercial fishermen 

 and processed at shore-based installations. Additional income for the 

 area results from tourism engendered by the ba;^'s w aters. 



Both tourism and commercial fishing are prime potential sources of 

 income to any estuarine system. In the case of Apalachicola Bay, these 

 happen to be the major sources of income because of the nature of the 

 estuary and its location which prevent its development as a commer- 

 cial shipping facility. 



The San Diego economy, although heavily dependent upon the mili- 

 tary and shipping activities in the bay, 1ms 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 commercial uses can be found in their willing- 

 ness to invest substantial sums of money in facilities to prevent pollu- 

 tion of the bay 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. How- 

 ever, 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 devel- 

 opment program with adequate investments are necessary to achieve 

 optimal use of an estuary. 



