increases in employment, and corresponding catch increases for the commercial 

 fishing industry. Recreational fishing programs for underutilized species would 

 also increase personal fishing satisfaction and economic returns to the commun- 

 ityo 



Economic criteria are, of course, adverse to measures which would 

 result in economic loss or great economic burdeno From this viewpoint, measures 

 dealing v^7ith water quality improvement, preservation of wetland areas, and 

 acquisition of islands for preserve areas would not rate favorably. The eco- 

 nomic objections to such programs are based on either low benefit-cost ratios 

 or outright lack of knowledge concerning the quantitative value or cost of a 

 particular program. However, while it is not always possible to attach a cost 

 to an environmental program, it must be emphasized that such factors do not 

 always signify a poor economic risko Wetland preservation programs, for example, 

 while difficult to evaluate on a unit cost basis, can lead to economic returns 

 in terms of erosion control, improved water quality, and increased fishing, 

 hunting, and other recreational opportunitieso 



603 Major considerations of social well-being (SW) 



Social criteria (Table 11) favor most of the alternative measures, 

 particularly those which will provide access to or increase utilization and 

 appreciation of the Sound's natural resources, such as establishment of fishing 

 piers, improvement of fishing access (improving polluted shellfishing and fin- 

 fishing areas, increasing the number of boat rental facilities) and establish- 

 ment of wildlife management areas o Social criteria are relatively neutral to 

 measures which will limit use of these resources to some degree, such as the 

 eventual establishment of uniform size and bag limits for sport fish, establish- 

 ment of a marine fisheries management/ research program, and acquisition of is= 

 lands as wildlife management areas o They are opposed to measures which would 

 force redevelopment and relocation » 



604 Measures to sustain the natural biological productivity of the Sound area 



Establish marine fishery management/ research programso Without 

 basic knowledge of how the Sound's ecosystem functions, it is difficult to 

 implement specific future recommendations since so many programs are dependent 

 on this biological information; thus, this recommendation is of primary impor- 

 tance in this studyo Perhaps the most important question which needs to be 

 answered is the capability of specific fishery resources to be utilized over 

 the long term without detrimental changes; any degree of overfishing would 

 most probably result in declining fish and shellfish populations and may result 

 in loss of the resource for future generationso 



In addition, a main consideration of fishery management/ research 

 programs would be to manage the resources for public enjoyment and satisf actiono 

 In this respect, numerous benefits would be available to sport fishermeno 

 These benefits would include construction and maintenance of piers, establishment 

 of artificial reefs, the purchase of additional fishing access sites on the 

 shoreline, and the construction of boat launching ramps« 



37 



