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A Social and Economic Study of the Recreational Billfish Fishery in the Southern Baja Area of Mexico

Report prepared for The Billfish Foundation Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA.

A Social and Economic Study of the Recreational Billfish Fishery in the Southern Baja Area of Mexico

Robert B. Ditton, Shepherd R. Grimes, and Leslie D. Finkelstein

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries SciencesTexas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-2258, USA

January 22, 1996

A Social and Economic Study of the Recreational Billfish Fishery in the Southern Baja Area of Mexico Robert B. Ditton, Shepherd R. Grimes, and Leslie D. Finkelstein Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-2258, USA

Executive Summary The purpose of this study isto acquaint/remind decisionmakers in Mexico of the social and economic importance of their recreational billfish fishery, the abundance of billfish resources upon which it all depends, and perhaps how additional benefits can be restored through billfish conservation. A mail questionnaire was used to collect information from those anglers who used charter vessels to access offshore billfish anglingin the southern Baja area. Information targeted included personal characteristics, fishing patterns, catch and release behavior, management preferences, trip expenditures, and willingness-to-pay above trip expenditures. The survey was sent to 950 individuals who fished using charter boats or pangas in Cabo San Lucas or Buena Vista in the previous twelve months (1994-1995). Survey mailings began onMarch 10, 1995 following a slightly modified Dillman (1978) methodology and continued through to June. A total of 425 questionnaires were completed and returned. After non-deliverables were removed, an overall effective response rate of 50% was achieved. A sample of 30 survey nonrespondents were contacted by telephone and asked an abbreviated set of questions. This was done to avoid having tomake the assumption that non-respondents were similar to respondents. There were few differences overall and sample results were weighted accordingly in order to make inferences about the population of charter boat and panga anglers fishing for billfish in the southern Baja.

Characteristics of Billfish Anglers ! Most (92%) anglers were male and 56% were between 36 and 54 years of age (average=47). They were predominantly white (95%) and non-Hispanic (93%).

Prepared for The Billfish Foundation in cooperation with the Los Cabos Sportfishing Association through a research contract with Texas A&M University.

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The median household income category of billfish anglers was $80,000 - $99,999. The median education level was 15.5 or 3 1/2 years of college. Most (59%) reported they hadbeen saltwater fishing for 20 years or more (average = 22 years).

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Most (58%) anglers reported they had been fishing for billfish for 9 years or less (average = 10 years). Less than one-half (48%) rated fishing as their most important outdoor recreation activity. When asked to identify their three most preferred species, anglers identified marlin, tuna, and dorado, respectively.Most (63%) anglers reported not putting most of their fishing effort into one particular species. Anglers reported an average of 20 days of recreational fishing (median = 13) in the previous 12 months. Anglers reported an average of 7.5 years of billfish angling experience in the country. Only 19% of the anglers participated in billfish angling elsewhere besides Mexico or their home state. Most (69%)anglers reported their household does not own one or more powerboats, those who owned boats reported an average length of 25 feet for the longest one. Most (84%) of the anglers were not members of four identified fishing/conservation association. Of those who were members, a plurality (9.8%) reported they belonged to the Billfish Foundation. Most (56%) anglers reported they subscribed to...