From NOAA Fishnews (Sept 2):
Our Pascagoula, Mississippi facilities have sustained significant damage and photographs of the site are available. The two NOAA research vessels based there are providing support for NOAA and other Federal agencies. Many of our personnel have suffered significant damage to their homes. We are working with our employees to help them recover from this tragedy, and we are also assessing our priorities in fisheries science and management for the days and weeks ahead.
We will continue to provide for the management of living marine resources in the Gulf of Mexico, including special actions in response to the hurricane. The Gulf Fishery Management Council meeting that was scheduled for September 12-16 in New Orleans has been postponed until October and moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. Other public hearings and reporting procedures have also been modified.
More:
NOAA Fisheries Service is working with its partners to begin assessing the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the fishing industries of the Southeast Region. Fishery Reporting Specialists are assessing the impact of the hurricane on fish processing and distribution facilities, commercial and recreational marinas, and other forms of infrastructure such as ice houses, bait shops, gear manufacturers, etc. We are also collecting data on the economic impact of Katrina to the recreational fishing industry located in the affected areas of the Gulf. NOAA Fisheries Enforcement will work with the Gulf States to provide assistance through Joint Enforcement Agreements.
An estimate of the negative impact of Katrina on recreational anglers can be found using the travel cost method and trip estimates from the NMFS. The notion is that anglers are worse off because they can no longer travel to Louisiana and Mississippi for recreational fishing. They still go fishing but someplace else.
The number of saltwater recreational fishing trips that would have taken place during September and October of 2005 is estimated from a simple projection using 2000-2004 data.
Year LA MS 2000 629,115 202,362 2001 653,174 231,757 2002 560,698 174,418 2003 720,442 201,525 2004 776,154 158,750 2005* 776,320 158,526 *Simple forecast from MRFSS data
The value of fishing site access in LA and MS using results from a NMFS report (by Tim, myself and Ted McConnell) is $14.19/trip and $4.89/trip (2005$), respectively. The product of the number of trips and the value per trip is $11 million and $775 thousand in LA and MS for September and October, 2005.
Add this non-market damage estimate to the economic impact of Katrina. It's small relative to the other economic costs and the human toll, and the product is a luxury in times like these, but the damage is there.