Economics of shark diving: split from Jupiter diver in trauma center after ‘upper extremity’ injury

[The Chairman]

A report earlier this year from the ocean conservation group Oceana found that in 2016, shark dives generated about $337 million, fueled about 6,000 jobs, and $80 million in wages.

I want to know where they got these figures from.

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

split from this thread: Jupiter diver in trauma center after ‘upper extremity’ injury

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[HalcyonDaze]

I want to know where they got these figures from.

My bet is that those numbers are a worldwide estimate; how many dive operations and how much secondary economic impact they're rolling into that is a good question. It's likely they're including things like whale shark snorkels and maybe even regular dive ops that don't specifically target sharks but are in areas where sightings are reliable.

A few years ago I did a ballpark calculation that the handful of Palm Beach operators baiting sharks (3 at the time) were probably pulling in $1 million a year in gross revenue, without accounting for tank fills, gear rentals, hotels, restaurants, etc. Now, are those numbers better than any three random boats in the area lumped together? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[drrich2]

But those gear rentals, and especially hotel & to some extent restaurant bills, matter. When I went to Jupiter recently as a customer in shark feed diving, I took my wife, preschooler and mother-in-law. Lotta luggage, so rented an SUV, booked a budget hotel room 8 days, did a dive at Blue Heron Bridge (rented a tank & float for that), bought groceries, ate out...

Those sharks made some money for Emerald Charters, Scuba Works dive shop, the dive shop by Blue Heron Bridge, Enterprise car rental, Best Western Intracoastal Inn, Publix, Walmart, Southwest Airlines, Schooner's restaurant, Outback Steakhouse, Zoo Miami, Lion Country Safari, who knows what all else.

If Florida didn't have it, I could've left the family home & flew to the Bahamas for a Bahamas Aggressor live-aboard trip with Tiger Beach itinerary.

In 2011, the New York Times put out an article stating a study showed Palau's sharks were worth $1.9 million each. I'm skeptical it's practical to reliability peg it that close, but still...

Richard.

 

[Wookie]

I want to know where they got these figures from.

One of the PR folks for Oceana is a friend of mine. You want a hook up? I'll try to get her on SB....

 

[Ali4Oceans]

I am the Southeast Campaign Manager for Oceana. To clarify, our independent economist found that in Florida alone, direct expenditures by divers such as boat rentals, food and lodging for shark- encounter dives totaled roughly $221 million and fueled over 3,700 jobs in 2016.
You can read the report here:
http://usa.oceana.org/sites/default...mic_impact_of_shark_diving_in_fl_high-res.pdf

 

[Diver0001]

I have split this from the original thread and put the new thread in the Florida forum. If someone thinks there is a better place for it then please let me know.

R..

 

[YankBoffin]

...in Florida alone, direct expenditures by divers such as boat rentals, food and lodging for shark- encounter dives totaled roughly $221 million and fueled over 3,700 jobs in 2016.

Hi, Ali4Oceans. Welcome and thanks for the information. That sum of tourism dollars is truly staggering! I cannot imagine how a state sitting on such a tourism goldmine hasn't banned fin trade and shark capture in full.

The last two times I visited Florida, shark diving was part of the itinerary. I plan to continue that, though as drrich2 indicated above, the Bahamas and the Yucatan are easy alternative should Florida continue to legislate against their best interests...

 

[Diver0001]

I am the Southeast Campaign Manager for Oceana. To clarify, our independent economist found that in Florida alone, direct expenditures by divers such as boat rentals, food and lodging for shark- encounter dives totaled roughly $221 million and fueled over 3,700 jobs in 2016.
You can read the report here:
http://usa.oceana.org/sites/default...mic_impact_of_shark_diving_in_fl_high-res.pdf

Just a question (as a user, not a moderator). But I'm used to looking at things in a broader perspective. If you're talking about how much economic activity is being generated then I think the public sector elements need to be included. In this case, particularly rescue operations and the medical costs of saving a life and reattaching limbs.

So there is $221 million being generated but how much will the rescue and medical expenses of this one accident amount to, because there's a lot of tax payers (government) money involved in those activities and government money is like "anti" economic activity. You can visualize this as revenue (the $221 million) and the societal cost of generating that revenue.

Have there been any studies that look at it like this?

R..

 

[Wookie]

Hi, Ali4Oceans. Welcome and thanks for the information. That sum of tourism dollars is truly staggering! I cannot imagine how a state sitting on such a tourism goldmine hasn't banned fin trade and shark capture in full.

The last two times I visited Florida, shark diving was part of the itinerary. I plan to continue that, though as drrich2 indicated above, the Bahamas and the Yucatan are easy alternative should Florida continue to legislate against their best interests...

Oh, but we're in Florida, where the only good shark is a dead shark. There has been a ton of legislation to protect sharks from fishing, etc., but we can't restrict the livlihoods of 4 or 5 shark fishermen, many of whom are from out of state. Nope Nope Nope, we need to kill as many lemons as we can, especially during mating season (I can explain why this is bad if needed), and outlaw all types of shark tourism. And the Diving trade group goes right along with this, they want all shark tourism shifted to the Bahamas. It's enough to make you want to have a postal episode.

 

[tilikum]

I am all for shark dives, and completely against shark fishing. My sole issue is the hand feeding.