Surfonomics- putting a price on the wave

The NZ Herald of Saturday 15th Sept carried an article on Putting a Price on the waves. This reprint of a September article from the Washington Post’s article on Surfonomics covers the work of Chard Nelsen at Duke University. Nelsen proved that the waves breaking on the beach constituted a multimillion-dollar asset and was used to persuade a town on Puerto Rico’s northwest coast to protect the surf. In the USA it is estimated that surfing contributes US$ 2 billion to the national economy.

The NZ Herald article was complemented by a New Zealand view, Raglan’s businesses ride on its breakers, featuring interviews with Raglanlanders Charlie Young and Ben Kennings who provided anecdotal evidence on the importance of surfing to the New Zealand economy.

In the article Charlie Young is quoted saying, “that it would crush Raglan’s heart and soul if something – such as an environmental disaster – stopped people from surfing”.

The economic importance of tourism on the Raglan economy has been covered in research work by Clare Wimmer, Eco-Tourism in in Raglan.