Welfare economics must adapt to the growing consensus over the assignment of rights to animals. We extend nonmarket valuation techniques to the study and measurement of the preferences of Chinook salmon regarding their aquatic habitat and the value of their existence. We find that these techniques are as valid for fish as they are for humans. Our applied study indicates that opportunities exist for Pareto-improving trades between salmon and California agricultural and hydropower interests. (JEL Q510)
A read this awhile back and am off-campus right now so I can't pull up the PDF. If I remember correctly, this is a travel cost (or hedonic) analysis of salmon behavior.
I expect that it will make an appearance on many graduate level reading lists.
