ABSTRACT
Thus far in this book, we have examined the effects of coastal pollution on individual marine animals, on fisheries resource populations, on aquaculture production, and on humans. With all this as background, it seems logical now to put a price tag on pollution of coastal/estuarine waters — to assess economic effects, especially from the perspective of fish and shellfish resources and human well-being. That kind of assessment can be performed with some degree of adequacy for short-term immediate impacts, such as those associated with oil spills, but longer-term effects, such as possible reductions in available living resources or rejection of seafood products because of fear of contamination, are more difficult to quantify. An attempt at economic evaluation is almost obligatory, though, because, to many people, translation of biological or environmental findings into dollars and cents terms is a necessary prelude to any conclusions that might be reached about pollution effects — and to some of those same people, unless an economic effect can be clearly demonstrated, the issue is unimportant.
