300 



- 2 - 



The aforementioned elected political leaders were reflecting 

 the concerns of all of us in Delaware. The quality of Delaware's 

 coastal waters, beaches and wetlands is vital to our economic and 

 personal well-being. 



VJhile the values of our coastal resources can not be expressed 

 adequately in terms of economic statistics, a recitation of such 

 data su-ggests both the practical and esthetic lure of Delaware's 

 shorelines . 



Over 30,000 boats currently are registered in Delaware, more 

 than double the number ten years ago. The charter and head boat 

 industry contributes about $3.5 million to the State's economy each 

 year. In 1982, sport fishing contributed approximately $9 million 

 to our economy. Our three coastal State parks annually attract 

 nearly 2 million visitors, and nearly two-thirds of coastal park 

 revenues are supplied by out-of-state visitors. statewide in 1981, 

 out-of-state visitors contributed about $461 million to Delaware's 

 economy, most of which was spent in our coastal area, citizens of 

 Rehoboth Beach and other coastal resort communities will attest to 

 the absolutely essential role of the environment to their local 

 economies and tax revenues. 



