Fisheries Worth 4.5 Trillion Yen in Environmental Conservation

On May 15, 2003, Japan's Fisheries Agency released a report on evaluation of the "multifunctionality" of fisheries and coastal communities. As the multiple roles of fisheries and coastal communities have not been discussed as much as those of agriculture and forestry, the agency tried to calculate the economic value of the industry.

In addition to the primary function of supplying marine products, fisheries have various other functions:
1. Environmental conservation--circulation of materials such as nitrogen and phosphorous between the land and the ocean
2. Conservation of life and property--marine salvage and disaster prevention
3. Places for relaxation, recreation and learning
4. Inheritance of culture and traditions through fisheries and coastal communities

The estimated monetary value of the environmental conservation functions of fisheries totaled 4.5 trillion yen (about U.S.$38 billion), consisting of the following economic values:
* the economic value of water purification by shellfish in terms of the equivalent running costs of sewage treatment facilities--3.1 trillion yen (about U.S.$27 billion)
* water purification by tidal flats in terms of the equivalent cost for chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal at water purification facilities--400 billion yen (about U.S.$3.4 billion).
* water purification by seaweed beds in terms of the equivalent recovery cost of nitrogen and phosphorous--740 billion yen (about U.S.$6.2 billion)
* cleaning up beaches, fishing harbors, and seabeds in terms of the equivalent public expenditures--160 billion yen (about U.S.$1.3 billion)
* the economic value of the multifaceted functions of forests planted to enhance fish habitat--85 billion yen (about U.S.$710 million)

The total economic values of the multifunctional roles of fisheries and coastal communities altogether amount to 9.2 trillion yen (about U.S.$77 billion), the report says.



Posted: 2003/07/23 09:53:36 AM
Japanese version