570
33.1 Introduction
The impacts on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem during and after the Deepwater
Horizon (DWH) oil spill are well documented in this book and other research. While
an understanding of those impacts on natural systems is important, it is as critical to
evaluate impacts on human communities. Both commercial and recreational fisheries
are important economic drivers in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In the latest Fisheries
Economics of the United States (NMFS 2017), the Gulf of Mexico accounted for the
greatest number of jobs (141,000) and sales ($24.7 billion) when compared to all
other regions of the country. This economic activity can be dampened when there are
significant impacts to the biophysical environment and human communities because
of man-made or natural events. In this chapter, we will connect changes in the ecosystem, specifically modeled fisheries landings in the wake of the oil spill, to changes
in the economic activity supported by Gulf Coast fisheries.
33.2 Methodology
Economic impact analysis measures changes in total economic activity for a specified region due to a particular event or activity. In the wake of an event such as the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, economic impact analysis can provide estimates of the
foregone economic activity arising from changes in commercial fishing revenues or
the recreational fishing expenditures in coastal areas in the Gulf of Mexico. These
impacts are not only associated with changes in direct business revenues but also
result in changes in consumer and industry spending, employment, and tax revenues. This section provides an overview of the methodology used for estimating
both the direct and total economic impacts associated with changes in commercial
and recreational fishing activity after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
33.3 Atlantis Model
The Atlantis marine ecosystem model was used to estimate changes in fisheries
catch due to the DWH oil spill. Atlantis represents physical oceanography and nutrient and trophic dynamics from bacteria to apex predators in a three-dimensional
spatially explicit domain and facilitates two-way coupling between environmental
and anthropogenic effects, thus enabling examination of the cumulative or synergistic effects between oil spills and fishing (Fulton et al. 2004a, b). Technical specifications for the model may be found in Fulton et al. (2004a, b) and Link et al. (2011),
and development of the Gulf of Mexico Atlantis model is documented in Ainsworth
et al. (2015) and Tarnecki et al. (2016). The present study uses Atlantis simulation
outputs of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill as documented in Ainsworth et al. (2018).
Briefly, the hydrodynamic model, Connectivity Modeling System (CMS; Paris et al.
C. Court et al.
33.1 Introduction
The impacts on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem during and after the Deepwater
Horizon (DWH) oil spill are well documented in this book and other research. While
an understanding of those impacts on natural systems is important, it is as critical to
evaluate impacts on human communities. Both commercial and recreational fisheries
are important economic drivers in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In the latest Fisheries
Economics of the United States (NMFS 2017), the Gulf of Mexico accounted for the
greatest number of jobs (141,000) and sales ($24.7 billion) when compared to all
other regions of the country. This economic activity can be dampened when there are
significant impacts to the biophysical environment and human communities because
of man-made or natural events. In this chapter, we will connect changes in the ecosystem, specifically modeled fisheries landings in the wake of the oil spill, to changes
in the economic activity supported by Gulf Coast fisheries.
33.2 Methodology
Economic impact analysis measures changes in total economic activity for a specified region due to a particular event or activity. In the wake of an event such as the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, economic impact analysis can provide estimates of the
foregone economic activity arising from changes in commercial fishing revenues or
the recreational fishing expenditures in coastal areas in the Gulf of Mexico. These
impacts are not only associated with changes in direct business revenues but also
result in changes in consumer and industry spending, employment, and tax revenues. This section provides an overview of the methodology used for estimating
both the direct and total economic impacts associated with changes in commercial
and recreational fishing activity after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
33.3 Atlantis Model
The Atlantis marine ecosystem model was used to estimate changes in fisheries
catch due to the DWH oil spill. Atlantis represents physical oceanography and nutrient and trophic dynamics from bacteria to apex predators in a three-dimensional
spatially explicit domain and facilitates two-way coupling between environmental
and anthropogenic effects, thus enabling examination of the cumulative or synergistic effects between oil spills and fishing (Fulton et al. 2004a, b). Technical specifications for the model may be found in Fulton et al. (2004a, b) and Link et al. (2011),
and development of the Gulf of Mexico Atlantis model is documented in Ainsworth
et al. (2015) and Tarnecki et al. (2016). The present study uses Atlantis simulation
outputs of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill as documented in Ainsworth et al. (2018).
Briefly, the hydrodynamic model, Connectivity Modeling System (CMS; Paris et al.
C. Court et al.