Using a choice experiment to manage the excess demand challenges facing the Sundays River Estuary recreational fishery in South Africa

The Sundays River Estuary, situated in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, has excess recreational demand for estuarine services, specifically recreational fishing. The estuary has been over-fished, putting its sustainability at risk. Various management interventions may be required in order to save it, but how is this to be done without reducing welfare. This paper reports the application of a choice experiment to guide this very issue. It is found that the physical size of fish stocks is a very important predictor of recreational choice at the Sundays River Estuary, and it is recommended that demand be curtailed through an increase in the boat license fee for using the estuary of R174 per annum.