estimated S800 million on the sport. If present 

 trends continue, salt water angling will represent 

 about one-third of the total National sport fishery 

 effort by 2000. 



Indications of demand for marine recreation are 

 based on a concept of "occasions of participation" 

 in summer outdoor recreation activities. The over- 

 all predicted demand for recreational occasions in 

 the coastal zone by the year 2000 is 4.5 bilhon. 

 For some specific marine-related activities, the 

 figures in Table 2 are relevant. 



Table 2 



OCCASIONS OF PARTICIPATION IN 



OUTDOOR RECREATION 



(In millions) 



Projections Per Cent Increase 



1960 1965 1980 2000 



1965- 

 2000 



Swimming 

 Fishing 

 Boating 

 Water skiing 



672 970 1,671 2,982 207 



260 322 422 574 78 



159 220 386 694 215 



39 56 121 259 363 



Source: Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. 



The increased demand for public marine recrea- 

 tion areas has led to grave problems of overcrowd- 

 ing at the beaches, in the water, and near the 

 shores. Traffic tie-ups are common on highways 

 leading to and from the beaches every summer 

 weekend. The coves, harbors, and bays are becom- 

 ing so crowded with sail and motor boats that 

 health and safety hazards have become serious. 



Rising income has made more money available 

 for expenditure on recreation. Per capita dispos- 

 able income rose from $1,346 in 1950 to $2,567 

 in 1966. Total personal consumption expenditures 

 rose from SI 1.1 billion in 1950 to $26.3 billion in 

 1966, although the percentage of personal income 

 spent for recreation rose only from 5.8 per cent to 

 6.1 per cent during the same period. 



Further increasing the demand for marine 

 recreation are longer vacations, shorter work 

 weeks, and better access to the seashore provided 

 by the highway building program of the past 

 decade. 



The method used to allocate outdoor recreation 

 resources determines in large part the identity of 

 the participants. If outdoor recreation deserves 

 public support, whom should be provided with 

 opportunities? 



At present public outdoor recreation benefits 

 accrue mainly to the upper half of the income 

 strata. The poor are in greatest need and are also 

 least able to purchase these benefits. If the Nation 

 is serious about the public values of outdoor 

 recreation and if it is agreed that the lower income 

 people from metropolitan areas need such bene- 

 fits, more must be done. 



A most critical problem is that of preserving 

 natural playgrounds near population centers. Presi- 

 dent Johnson emphasized the point in a speech on 

 June 29, 1968 when he said that the United States 

 must concentrate on preserving recreation areas 

 near cities. Too many Americans cannot afford to 

 visit the great National parks in the West, he said. 

 "We can no longer go in search of far horizons 

 while we neglect the land under our feet," Mr. 

 Johnson declared, "Our new conservation must 

 build on a new principal: Bringing nature closer to 

 people." 



The President's statement bears strongly on 

 marine recreation because such a high percentage 

 of our great cities are in the coastal areas. 

 Projections indicate that by 2000, the residents of 

 metropohtan areas will more than double in 

 number and comprise about 73 per cent of the 

 U.S. population. About three-quarters of the 

 increase will be along the shorelines of the Atlantic 

 and Pacific Coasts and the Great Lakes in the 

 "megalopoHtan" areas of Boston-Washington, San 

 Diego-San Francisco, and Milwaukee-Cleveland. 



A major finding of the ORRRC report also was 

 that the most urgent need for recreation opportun- 

 ities is not in far-away places, but in the 50 mile 

 "day-trip" zone close to major urban areas. Thus 

 the most heavily impacted area of marine recrea- 

 tion (and in fact of all outdoor recreation) is 

 within about 50 miles of the big cities. This is not 

 to say that there is no urgency elsewhere. There 

 are many problems beyond 50 miles. But the 

 greatest need is for high-cost, high-density facilities 

 on a tiny proportion of the acreage to handle huge 

 masses of people conveniently while the surround- 

 ingland, thus protected, provides untroubled 

 amenity. Such high-density facilities might include 

 opportunities for swimming, surfing, skin diving, 

 fishing, picnicking, playing outdoor sports, and 

 observing marine life from fixed or mobile under- 

 water observatories. 



VlI-239 



