Abstract
This study aims at analyzing the potential of leports-fishing for improving fishing household income. Leports-fishing is a composite concept which is combined with those of leisure, sports and fishing. Korean on-shore resources have also a composite characteristic. The properties of the east, west and south coastal waters are quite different in geography, biology and ecology. There is a array of leports-fishing development potentials of utilizing their characteristics. At present, angling forms a main activity of leports-fishing, but coastal seas would be an emerging space for the public. In order for them to be a ground of fun, enjoyment and festivals, it would be necessary to supply a wide range of activities and facilities including angling, scuba diving, fish barbecue, ecological experience, fishing experience, cruise, and so forth. As seen in the survey results, the participants have strong desire for fun and enjoyment through leports-fishing activities. The proportion of people participating in one or two times a year amounts to 40 percent. Most coastal places visited are close to medium/large cities and two-days leports-fishing/tourism accounts for some 77 percent. However, it turned out that conflicts between leports-fishing participants and fishermen are not serious. The results of expenditure function estimation appear that the elasticity of per capita income is very high with 1.2660 and that there are negative relationships between leports-fishing expenditure and transportation/food/lodging costs. Assuming the annual national economic growth rate of 4 percent, it is anticipated that Korean leports-fishing population will increase to 3.18 million in 2010 and 4.07 million in 2015. Korean leports-fishing market potential in 2015, which is calculated based on per capita expenditure on leports-fishing, appears to amount to 1,400 billion won~1,600 billion won. The contribution of such market potential to the fishing households is expected to be 62.3~74.2 percent(934.5 billion won~111.3 billion won).
