Abstract

In August of 1992. the Coastal North Carolina Socioeconomic Study was initiated to provide information to the Minerals Management Service. U.S. Department of Interior, for management decisions pertaining to oil and gas exploration off the coast of North Carolina. The design of the study follows the recommendation of an Environmental Sciences Review Panel (ESRP), appointed in December of 1990, that current socioeconomic and sociocultural conditions in potentially affected communities be documented prior to any Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) activity on Manteo Site 467, situated 45 miles northeast of Cape Hatteras. ; During the course of the study, the following objectives guided data gathering and analysis for five counties and seven communities: (1) development of an adequate base case characterization of selected counties and communities likely to be affected by the OCS activity; (2) conduct of community specific case studies (i.e.. ethnographic profiles of community structure and functioning); (3) examination of community infrastructure; (4) examination of community based aesthetic values pertaining to the sociocultural and physical environments, and perceptions of risk to them; and (5) the incorporation of representative aspects of 1 through 4 into an ongoing socioeconomic monitoring program. ; The purpose of this paper is to summarize key findings from the study as they relate to marine resource utilization, specifically commercial and recreational fishing activity. Further, the paper examines variation in community structure and socioeconomic dependence on water resources in the area where OCS activity might occur. The intent was to examine the social structural framework within which variations in community perceptions of risk to the environment develop. ; Finally, the paper addresses the applicability of the study's methodology and findings for other geographical corridors where oil and/or gas exploration has taken place or will occur, specifically the Golf of Mexico region.

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