A VITAL ECOSYSTEM THE SARGASSO SEA OF GLOBAL IMPORTANCE THE SARGASSO SEA CREATES AN ESSENTIAL HABITAT FOR WORLDWIDE SPECIES GLOBALLY, BUT WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF THIS HIGH BIODIVERSE AND PRODUCTIVE AREA?

UNQUANTIFIED BENEFITS THE STUDY $100 MILLION REVENUES FROM ADDITIONALLY, THE SARGASSO SEA SUPPORTS LARGE PELAGICS IMPORTANT $500 MILLION THE STUDY LINKS THE ECOLOGICAL MIGRATE CLOSER TO COMMERCIAL FISHERIES WHALE SPECIES A LARGE NUMBER OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES THAT HEALTH OF THE SARGASSO SEA TO RELEVANT SHORE WHERE THEY CAUGHT IN THE MIGRATE THROUGH REVENUES FROM THE HAVE YET TO BE QUANTIFIED, INCLUDING: ALSO ARE CAUGHT SARGASSO SEA THE SARGASSO SEA ATLANTIC WHALE WATCHING ECONOMIC SECTORS USING EXISTING DATA. INDUSTRY. MANY WHALES ECOLOGICAL FUNCTION THIS INCLUDES ECOSYSTEM SERVICES THAT ARE SPEND TIME EACH YEAR SARGASSUM CONTRIBUTES TO THE CREATION ENJOYED DIRECTLY WITHIN THE SARGASSO SEA. IN THE SEA OF BEACHES AND SHORELINE PROTECTION, CARBON NEW YORK SEQUESTRATION, OXYGEN PRODUCTION, AND THE HEALTH OF THE SARGASSO SEA PROVIDES BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION A FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE OF THE SARGASSO SEA. SPECIES OF ECONOMIC INTEREST, SUCH

USA AS EEL, BILLFISH, WHALES, TURTLES RELY WILDLIFE ON THE SARGASSO SEA FOR SPAWNING, ENJOYED BY BIRD WATCHERS AND SEA LIFE VIEWED THE BY SCUBA DIVERS, SNORKELERS, AND OTHERS MATURATION, FEEDING, CRITICAL M U R D E ROUTE FOR MIGRATION. A B SARGASSO EELS CAUGHT PENDLETON, L., F. KROWICKI., P. STROSSER, IN EUROPE AND $0.6 MILLION NORTH AMERICA AND J. HALLETT-MURDOCH. ASSESSING DIRECT REVENUES SEA ARE BORN IN THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF MARINE ICONIC ORGANISMS IN BERMUDA THE SEA AND COASTAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE RECREATIONAL MORE THAN 100 SPECIES OF INVERTEBRATES, MORE SARGASSO SEA. (NI R 14-05. DURHAM, FROM FISHERIES IN THE THAN 280 SPECIES OF FISH, AND 23 SPECIES OF SEABIRD, NC: DUKE UNIVERSITY) RECREATIONAL ATLANTIC US INCLUDING MANY THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES FISHING DEPEND ON THE $66 MILLION SARGASSO SEA SARGASSUM REVENUES FROM COMMERCIAL EEL HARVESTS PROVIDES THE ECOLOGICAL IN NORTH AMERICA STRUCTURE FOR THE AND EUROPE USA A PRODUCTION OF ECOSYSTEM YOUNG TURTLES T L SERVICES IN THE SEA SPEND YEARS TO MIAMI A PASSIVE USE VALUES N FEED, HIDE AND GROW T I C IN SARGASSUM INCLUDING THE EXISTENCE OF CHARISMATIC SPECIES O C E A N THE AND RARE OR THREATENED SPECIES LIKE WHALES, SARGASSO $15 MILLION TURTLES, SHARKS, AND EMBLEMATIC SPECIES (E.G., SEA THE SARGASSUM ANGLERFISH) AS WELL AS POTENTIAL CUBA OPTION VALUES FOR ORGANISMS THAT ARE AS YET HAITI REVENUES FROM TURTLE TOURISM IN THE CARIBBEAN. MANY TURTLES UNDISCOVERED. SARGASSUM PROVIDES PROTECTIVE HABITAT FOR YOUNG TURTLES DEPEND ON THE SARGASSO SEA FOR AND SHARKS. PROTECTION AND HABITAT IN THEIR EARLY YEARS