The main economic and social impacts of invasive
alien marine species are negative impacts on human
health and decreases in economic production of
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Fig. 1. Number of North Pacific seastars estimated to be in Port
Phillip Bay (Victoria,Australia). Early dates are numbers caught by
scallop dredgers (Don Hough,Victorian DSE pers. comm.).
314 N. Bax et al. / Marine Policy 27 (2003) 313–323
activities based on marine environments and resources
such as fisheries,aquaculture,tourism and marine
infrastructure. These effects have related social impacts
through decreases in employment in economic activities
directly affected by invasive alien species but also
through decreases in people’s welfare from the reduced
quality of their environments and natural surroundings.
There is an associated opportunity cost to economies
and societies from the foregone benefits of financial
resources,labour and scientific and technical capacities
diverted to the management of invasive alien marine
species.