Artificial and Natural Reef Valuation

Reefs play a vital role for countless marine species and are an important destination for recreationists who desire to view the diversity of animal and plant life in this unique marine environment. Here, reefs refer to both artificial and natural reefs. Natural reefs include both coral reefs and other natural hard-bottom reefs. Many states have active artificial reef programs; in Florida, local county agencies also have these programs. Recently, these agencies have been pressured to justify the public investment in artificial reefs, as well as investments in protecting and restoring natural reefs. In the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), there is concern about the impacts of introducing new artificial reefs into a natural reef environment. Proponents of new artificial reefs argue that they will take pressure off of surrounding natural reefs (i.e. reduce usage). CORE has instituted monitoring programs to test this hypothesis.

New Artificial Reefs
Florida
Hawaii
Coral Reef Literature

New Artificial Reefs

With the proliferation of new artificial reefs either planned or deployed in the U.S., a clear need for monitoring programs for these new reefs is emerging. Studies of the economic and ecological impacts of new artificial reefs are necessary to better understand the effects of these reefs and to inform subsequent reef deployment decisions.

Florida

In 1999, CORE joined with the State of Florida in a study conducted by Dr. Frederick W. Bell and Dr. Mark Bonn, of Florida State University, to estimate the market economic impact (e.g., sales/output, income and employment) and nonmarket economic use value (consumer’s surplus) of the artificial reefs in a five-county area (Bay, Walton, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Escambia Counties) in northwest Florida. The resulting report, titled Economic Impact and Importance of Artificial Reefs in Northwest Florida (pdf, 852 kb), was designed so that each county would have its own stand-alone chapter (i.e., one need only read the chapter about the county of interest, since the methodologies are explained in each chapter). Chapter 6 is an executive summary across counties. The Northwest Florida page of this Web site contains a description of this study and the report.

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Following the success of the northwest Florida effort, a multi-agency partnership was created to fund a study of the artificial and natural reefs of southeast Florida. NOAA, the State of Florida, and four local county agencies (Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties) entered a partnership to conduct the study. Hazen & Sawyer was selected through a competitive contract process to lead the study, with a subcontract to Florida State University. As with the northwest Florida study, the southeast Florida study included estimates of market and nonmarket economic use values. In southeast Florida, natural reefs, especially coral reefs, are more important than artificial reefs. Separate estimates are provided for existing artificial and natural reefs; including the willingness to pay for new artificial reefs. The report, titled A Socioeconomic Study of Reefs in Southeast Florida, Final Report, October 19, 2001 (pdf, 10.3 mb), offers a separate chapter for each county, with an executive summary across counties, and a chapter that provides more detail across counties. Unlike the northwest Florida report, technical details about how estimates were developed will provided in a separate technical report, which is not yet available. The Southeast Florida page of this Web site contains all available reports and appendices (including questionnaires) in PDF. In 2002, the southeast effort was extended to Martin County, Florida

Hawaii

In 2001, NOAA funded the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative (HCRI) to conduct socioeconomic studies of Hawaiian coral reefs. Dutch economist Herman Cesar was selected in a competitive proposal process to lead the study. As reports from this study are released, they will be posted on the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative page of this Web site.

Coral Reef Literature

NOAA's National Ocean Service, including the Special Projects Office, Damage Assessment Center, and Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, is developing a Coral Reef Value Literature Review under NOAA’s Coral Reef Initiative. The review found approximately 50 studies. The literature review will provide an annotated bibliography of these studies, along with a database containing the estimated values in support of benefits transfer applications. Readers can access this information under the Bibliographies/Benefits Transfer theme.

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