This paper reports on a choice experiment study carried out in Ireland in
early 2007 aimed at partly addressing this uncertainty. The study primarily focused on determining the
economic value held by the Irish public for the conservation of deep-sea corals using several variants of
the concept of MPAs. They have endorsed MPA strategies that banned trawling in an MPA that included all
areas where corals are thought to exist with no personal tax imposed, banned trawling in an MPA covering
all known corals with a personal tax imposed of D 1 p.a. and banned all fishing in an MPA covering all
areas where corals are thought to exist with a personal tax imposed of D 1 p.a. In terms of the probabilities
attached to the individual attributes, the most preferred policy options were to ban trawling, protect all
areas where corals are thought to exist, and pay a ring-fenced personal tax of D 1 p.a.