Chapter 25: Economic Valuation of Diving with Bull Sharks in Natural Conditions: A Recent Activity in Cabo Pulmo National Park, Gulf of California, Mexico

Carmen Pasos-Acuña, Marco Antonio Almendarez-Hernández, Edgar Mauricio Hoyos-Padilla, María Carmen Blázquez, James Thomas Ketchum

Ortega-Rubio, A. (eds) Socio-ecological Studies in Natural Protected Areas. Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47264-1_25

Abstract

Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP) is one of the main tourist destinations in the Gulf of California, especially for recreational diving with bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas). This activity begun in the late 1990s after the National Park was created, the local community changed its main activity from traditional fishing to offer tourist facilities for observation of marine life; as a result, the economic benefits are now greater than ever before. However, these benefits have not been quantified or taken into account in the CPNP management; thus, the objective of this study was to estimate the specific economic value of diving with bull sharks by using a method of revealed preferences (travel cost) and calculating the consumer surplus (CS) of diving with bull sharks at CPNP as a tourist destination. We deducted the travel cost of each person per day through 250 on-site surveys directed to tourists who visited CPNP to dive with bull sharks. The economic analysis showed that the number of divers who travel specifically to CPNP for bull shark sighting represents 23% of the total tourists visiting the park. The recreational demand function with the econometric treatment of the Poisson model revealed a CS result of $694 USD per person per day with an average of a 4-day stay. This information was useful to promote improvements in management and conservation of bull sharks at CPNP.

Keywords:  Economy of the local resources, Diving with sharks, Marine protected areas, Tourism, Travel cost method, Data count