The Economic Impact of Saltwater Sportfishing Harvest Restrictions in Alaska: An Empirical Analysis of Nonresident Anglers

Abstract

Saltwater sportfishing is a popular activity for visitors to Alaska. In this paper, a stated-preference model of saltwater sportfishing participation is used to generate estimates of the changes in participation resulting from changes in harvest limits for three primary recreational target species in Alaska saltwater fisheries: Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis, Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, and coho salmon O. kisutch. These estimates are then used in a state-level computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to generate estimates of the economic impacts of harvest policies. We find that the impacts of changes in nonresident anglers' expenditures are smaller than those from a social accounting matrix model and that many of the impacts from an increase in expenditures leak out of state owing to Alaska's heavy dependence on imports of goods and services from the rest of the United States. Moreover, changes to harvest limits appear to have a small effect on the Alaska economy, at least in comparison with the overall size of that economy.