Valuing the contributions of conservation volunteers to coastal society

Coastal living offers diverse recreational activities that contribute to local society. We investigated the economic value and social perceptions of conservation volunteering and recreational fishing, which are tied to the health and productivity of coastal communities. The broader community value of recreational fishing is regularly assessed, whereas that of conservation volunteering remains underexplored. We surveyed 180 coastal residents in South Australia, where fishing is an iconic part of coastal living and tied to the functioning of ecosystems that sustain the fishing economy. We used the travel cost method, applied to fishing and volunteering trips, and inductive thematic coding to examine the value of recreational fishing relative to conservation volunteering. Volunteers showed greater willingness than fishers to continue participating in their activity when personal costs increased, suggesting they had a deeper commitment to their activity than fishers. Fishers were more sensitive to cost increases, with predicted participation falling by 30% when trip costs doubled, compared with a 4% decline in conservation volunteering. This contrast was reflected by the gap between what participants were willing to pay and what they actually spent; conservation volunteers had an estimated consumer surplus of $994 per trip compared with $610 per trip for fishers. We suggest this disparity in commitment may partly reflect how participants perceived the benefits of their engagement. Volunteers regarded their benefits as mostly collective (e.g., environmental and societal), whereas fishers perceived benefits as more individual (e.g., well-being and recreation). Volunteers and fishers appear to play distinct but complementary roles in strengthening coastal communities. Our findings emphasize the need for more inclusive economic valuation of conservation to capture the range of benefits conservation activities provide. A deeper understanding of conservation volunteering's contribution can inform more inclusive and effective coastal management to the benefit of both the environment and local communities.