Most (92%) anglers were male and 56% were between 36 and 54 years of age (average =47). They were predominantly white (95%) and non-Hispanic (93%).

The median household income category of billfish anglers was $80,000 - $99,999. The median education level was 15.5 or 3 1/2 years of college.

Most (59%) reported they had been saltwater fishing for 20 years or more (average = 22 years).

Most (58%) anglers reported they had been fishing for billfish for 9 years or less (average = 10 years).

Less than one-half (48%) rated fishing as their most important outdoor recreation activity.

When asked to identify their three most preferred species, anglers identified marlin, tuna, and dorado, respectively. Most (63%) anglers reported not putting most of their fishing effort into one particular species.

Anglers reported an average of 20 days of recreational fishing (median = 13) in the previous 12 months.

Anglers reported an average of 7.5 years of billfish angling experience in the country.

Only 19% of the anglers participated in billfish angling elsewhere besides Mexico or their home state.

Most (69%) anglers reported their household does not own one or more powerboats, those who owned boats reported an average length of 25 feet for the longest one.

Most (84%) of the anglers were not members of four identified fishing/conservation association. Of those who were members, a plurality (9.8%) reported they belonged to the Billfish Foundation.

Most (56%) anglers reported they subscribed to fishing or boating magazines. The most frequently mentioned publication was Western Outdoor News.

In 1994, port captain records indicated 13,561 and 4,203 charter boat and panga trips, respectively, in the study area.

Two informants who operate hotels in the Buena Vista area and book trips for their customers reported a total of 10,100 panga trips there in 1994.

Anglers reported an average of one billfish trip (1.371) to Mexico in the previous twelve months.

Billfish anglers brought an average of 0.6 billfish to the dock during the previous 12 months.

Anglers took an average of 1.26 days to boat a billfish (bring a billfish to the boat).

Most anglers (72%) were interested in catching blue marlin on their most recent trip, followed by striped marlin (65%), sailfish (46%), and black marlin (34%).

The most commonly hooked species on their most recent trip was striped marlin with an average of 0.478 fish per angler brought to the boat.

Panga anglers in the Buena Vista area reported a higher release rate (74%) on their most recent trip than charter boat anglers in Cabo San Lucas (66%). The overall release rate on the most recent trip in the study area was 69%.

Most anglers indicated support for four recreational billfish fishery management options: minimum size requirements (79%), mandatory "no kill" tournaments (68%), a one fish bag limit per person (53%), and catch and release only (zero bag limit) (50%). Apparently, at least 3% of the anglers were willing to entertain both of the last two management options.

Most anglers indicated opposition to two options: allowing recreational handlining and harpooning (82%) and no "live baiting" (59%).

There was no clear consensus on several other management options. Furthermore, about one-third of the anglers were neutral on the following: no stainless steel hooks (45%), no double hooks or lures (37%), artificial baits only (37%), area closures for billfish anglers (34%), and seasonal closures for billfish anglers (33%). There was no consensus whatsoever on the one fish bag limit per boat.

When anglers were asked "If continued commercial longlining in Mexico reduced billfish populations so that your chances of a successful trip were decreased by 25%, how would your travel plans change?", 44% indicated they would travel to another destination besides Mexico, mostly to fish for billfish (38%).

The remainder (56%) would return to Mexico with most making substitution decisions that involved alternate species (36%).

For the 38% who indicated they would travel elsewhere to fish for billfish, the most preferred fishing locations were Costa Rica/Pacific and Hawaii.

Anglers reported spending an average of $1,918 (U.S. Dollars) overall on their most recent trip to the southern Baja.

The average trip lasted 5.73 days with 3.17 days of fishing.

Using an average trip expenditure of $1,570 (excluding airfare), anglers spent an average of $274 per person per day in Mexico.

Average trip-related expenditures overall of charter boat and panga anglers were $2,174 and $1,431, respectively. Excluding airfare, their average trip- related expenditures were $1,744 and $1,279, respectively. With no significant group differences in trip length, charter boat and panga anglers spent an average of $304 and $223 per person per day, respectively, in southern Baja area of Mexico.

Charter boat and panga billfish anglers spent $14,429,056 and $9,568,707, respectively, in the study area for billfish fishing last year (excluding airfare). Total expenditures by both angler groups were $23,997,763.

Overall, these billfish anglers spent an additional $20,229,030 in the study area last year for purposes besides billfish fishing (expenditures on non-fishing days).

When total angling and non-angling trip expenses are taken together (excluding air transportation expenditures for travel to Mexico), billfish anglers taking charter boat and panga trips offshore spent $44,411,914 overall in the study area last year.

In lieu of a widely accepted economic multiplier for the tourism sector in Baja California Sur, a moderate economic multiplier of 2.25 was used to calculate the extent of indirect and induced economic impact associated with billfish angler expenses in the southern Baja study area. In other words, every dollar of expenditure in the study area by anglers results in $2.25 in total economic impact before the money leaves the state of Baja California Sur.

The $23,997,763 in fishing-related expenditures by billfish anglers in the southern Baja study area (excluding airfare to and from Mexico) had a total economic impact of $53,994,967 on the state's economy.

When non angling trip expenditures are included, a total direct expenditure of $44,411,914 had a total economic impact of $99,926,807 on the state's economy.

Since an angler's expenditures are only a partial measure of the true value of recreational fishing to the individual, they are not a useful measure of its total economic benefit. Measures of willingness to pay in excess of trip expenditures can be used to estimate the value of these additional benefits (consumer's surplus) to anglers.

Average consumer's surplus for billfish trips in the southern Baja was estimated at $547.16.

When the total number of charter boat billfish angler trips taken in the southern Baja last year (28,288) is multiplied by $547.16, anglers received an annual economic benefit of $15,478,062 above total direct trip expenditures.

When total annual consumer's surplus ($15,478,062) is combined with the total annual expenditures (including airfare) associated with billfish angling in the southern Baja ($54,241,090), the present economic value of the charter boat/panga billfish fishery is estimated at $69,719,152

The billfish angler market in the southern Baja is extremely diverse and, much more heterogenous than shown in previous billfish angler studies. There are at least four angler groups or market segments which use chartered vessels: 1) those anglers who come to Cabo San Lucas each year for one or more billfish tournaments, 2) those who purchase low cost panga fishing trips while vacationing in Cabo, 3) those anglers who book charter boats in Cabo in advance or after they arrive, and 4) those anglers who use pangas to go billfish fishing in the Buena Vista area. Whereas data were not available for every angler group, there were some notable differences in billfish release rates, expenditures, and total economic impacts.

We need to know much more about low cost panga fishing trips purchased by vacationers in Cabo San Lucas. Results for panga trips in the Buena Vista area were used as a proxy for panga trips in Cabo San Lucas because we had no alternative. Because panga operators in Cabo do not maintain records of customer names and addresses for follow-up survey research efforts, an alternative means of establishing a sampling frame for this angler group is needed.

Although this study only provides a "snapshot" view of billfish anglers and their fishing participation, there is evidence that both succession and displacement has occurred. As a result of changes in the recreational fishing environment in Cabo San Lucas, anglers have modified their behavior to maintain satisfaction. Many have gone billfish angling elsewhere. They have been replaced by individuals interested primarily in the destination and a variety of recreational pursuits (one of which is fishing). Whereas little can be done to reverse Cabo as we know it today, increases in catch per unit of effort could help attract anglers who have been displaced from billfish angling destinations elsewhere.

The Buena Vista area offers a competitive alternative for more serious but price conscious billfish anglers not interested in all of the distractions of Cabo. There has probably been little if any succession at this area; they are probably attracting the same types of anglers as they have previously. If anglers are displaced from Buena Vista, it will be due to a lack of improvement in fishing quality there in comparison to other destinations at comparable cost.

There are other important considerations besides the economic impact of the billfish fishery, for example, the extent to which anglers release billfish. Instead of encouraging additional charter boat business in Cabo San Lucas because of the larger party size and per day expenditure, arguments can be made in support of the panga fishery at Buena Vista and for discontinuing the panga fishery as currently operated in Cabo. All discussions of total economic impact need to be viewed in the context of sustainability.

There needs to be greater appreciation of the present economic value of the charter boat/panga billfish fishery ($69,719,152) and what it could be with some attention and care. With reduced commercial billfish catches and higher rates of catch and release by the recreational fishery, benefits to anglers as expressed in their willingness to pay above trip costs would likely increase. Actions of this sort could attract billfish anglers to the southern Baja from other fishing destinations in search of high quality angling and act to reverse the displacement of billfish anglers to other destinations.

Hopefully, two groups of Mexican nationals will make effective use of this report: 1) those committed to promoting resource conservation throughout Mexico, and 2) local business owners directly dependent on a sustainable billfish fishery for their livelihoods. This includes tackle shops, many of the charter boat operations in Cabo which have sought to promote the catch and release fishing market, and those hotels which still prominently feature billfish angling (i.e., the Buena Vista area) among others. This report provides social and economic arguments in behalf of natural resource protection and enhancement.