Increasing numbers of bird enthusiasts throughout North America are discovering the excitement and pleasures derived from visiting marine bird rookeries. As pointed out by Sowl and Bartonek (1974), and as anyone can attest who has ever had the privilege of watching the antics of tufted puffins (Lunda cirrhata) near their colonies on a day when the sun is obscured and the air buoyant, watching seabirds is fun.
We have found that organizations and businesses in practically every North American coastal State and Province, from Nova Scotia to Florida and Alaska to California, are busy scheduling boat or airplane excursions to marine-bird viewing areas off their shores. The Alaska and Washington State ferry systems have for years been providing passengers opportunity to enjoy seabirds of the North Pacific coast. Audubon chapters in San Diego, Los Angeles, Monterey, Seattle, Anchorage, and other cities sponsor annual excursions to seabird colonies.
In 1975 a charter airline service in Anchorage, Alaska, booked 530 people in 51 tours to fly to the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea to view the outstanding seabird and fur seal colonies there. Included in the bookings were three National Audubon Society International Ecology Workshops, the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, and Canadian Nature Federation. Participants paid from $1,500 to $2,000 for these tour packages to Alaska. At $300 to $380 per person, depending on the length of the excursion, the air charter service grossed about $160,000 from these tours (Reeve Aleutian Airways, personal communication).
Fairweather Outings, a small cruise business based in Sitka, Alaska, takes people on wilderness excursions in the west Chichagof-Glacier Bay area of the southeastern part of the State. The seabird rookeries are one of the principal attractions for the 90 people taking these trips each year. Over one-third of the clientele has been from outside Alaska; thus their dollars are new dollars to the State's economy. Fairweather Outings grossed about $11,000 in 1974 (Charles Johnstone, personal communication).
These examples illustrate how seabirds, both directly and indirectly, help small coastal businessmen earn a living. It is also important to recognize that the multiplier effects generated by the expenditures in all of the above examples ripple through the regional and State economies.
Despite the great social and economic significance of such activities along our coasts, apparently no attempt is being made to determine the number of people involved in such pursuits and how much they are spending. A study of the phenomenon would undoubtedly produce startling results.
The Wildlife Management Institute (1975) revealed that the national estimated value of manufacturers' shipments in 1972 was $157 million for camping equipment, $5 million for binoculars, and $19.9 million for bird feed. Sales of wild bird feed have been increasing 5 to 10% per year recently. These are all economic indicators of recreation trends of which enjoyment of marine birds is a part.
A major use of photographic equipment and related products and services is in the natural and scenic areas of the nation. Manufacturers' shipments of photographic equipment, and photofinishing, were valued at $2.3 billion in 1972. A 5% excise tax on these items would have generated nearly $118 million (Wildlife Management Institute 1975).
Since inadequate funding plagues most nongame management initiatives, the Wildlife Management Institute (1975) recommended that Congress authorize a matching grant-in-aid program to benefit nongame fish and wildlife. Funds would be obtained from new manufacturers' excise taxes on designated outdoor recreational equipment to initially yield at least $40 million annually.
The Executive Committee of the International Association of Game, Fish and Conservation Commissioners and the Council of the Wildlife Society have already endorsed model legislation for a State program for nongame wildlife conservation (Madson and Kozicky 1972). We urge that these proposals be given serious consideration in terms of future funding of marine bird conservation programs in North America.