This is a Story Map that summarizes a newly published (2019) Economic Study on the impact of marine debris on the economies of coastal communities. Here is the Executive Summary of the report:

Marine debris is a persistent problem in many coastal areas of the United States. There are a variety of potential economic losses associated with marine debris, including effects on commercial fisheries, effects on waterfront property values, costs incurred by local governments and volunteer organizations to remove and dispose of marine debris, and more general “existence” values reflecting the public’s preference for a clean environment. This study evaluates two types of economic loss that result from the effects of marine debris on beach recreation: the loss of recreational value to beach visitors, and the regional economic impact from reduced spending on beach visits in a particular region. The goal of this study was to better understand the economic effects of changes in the amount of debris on beaches. The results may help federal, state, and local agencies structure future debris abatement and mitigation projects to maximize social benefits provided by coastal resources. To address these goals, we collected data from four coastal areas in the United States: Gulf Coast beaches in Alabama, Atlantic Ocean beaches in Delaware and Maryland, Lake Erie beaches in Ohio, and Pacific Ocean beaches in Orange County, California. We estimated the effect of marine debris using two different economic concepts: the value of recreation and the economic impacts of recreation. The value of recreation is a monetary measure of the enjoyment people get from participating in beach recreation. It can also be described as people’s willingness to pay for recreational access to beaches, or for policies that improve beach recreation. The economic impact of recreation is a measure of the effect of beach recreation on spending by consumers and businesses in the region. It includes both direct spending on recreational activities and the effects of direct spending in stimulating the local economy. Because spending in some regions may increase as a result of a decrease in spending in other regions, amounts calculated for different regions should not be added together. Because they are interpreted in fundamentally different ways, economic impacts should also not be added together with estimates of recreation value. We measured recreational value and economic impacts for two hypothetical scenarios involving marine debris on beaches: a reduction in debris to almost none (defined in the study as one piece of debris per 500 square feet of beach), and a doubling of debris.

Data Links:

Link to images-

Link to Story Map- https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=501316ccaf24476282b01a4e9799ee2d

Link to PDF of Economic Study- https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/reports/study-economic-impacts-marine-debris-beaches