Researchers at the Marine Policy Center at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution estimated the economic benefits of the PNW HAB Bulletin. They found the publication of the Bulletin has led to better-informed decision-making and choices of management actions, which in turn have advanced public health goals and have improved economic conditions in coastal communities. The value of HAB predictions is realized through behavioral changes resulting from alternative decisions in response to a forecast of sufficient accuracy.

The study, "Assessing the value of harmful algal bloom forecasts in the Pacific Northwest" by Dr. Di Jin and colleagues, followed a well-established model framework that has been applied to assess the value of long-range climate predictions to US agriculture and the Pacific Northwest salmon fishery. Researchers quantified the value of HAB predictions to fisheries and fishing communities by calculating the expected difference between economic value when predictions inform decision-making versus the value when they are not used. Due to data limitations, the estimates for the value of HAB forecast reported in the study are conservative because they do not include the broader economic impacts across linked economic sectors (the multiplier effects). In addition, they do not capture many other HAB-affected sectors and dimensions (e.g., sociocultural disruptions, subsistence fisheries, and broader seafood sector).

Assuming 90% accuracy, the warning system cost is below the value it generates, if the HAB event frequency is higher than once every 7 years, which has been the case in the past three decades. Results of the study clearly show that continuous funding of the Bulletin is economically justifiable based on cost-benefit criteria. The value of HAB forecast is positively related to three primary factors: the frequency of HAB events, the precision of forecast, and the number of social and economic sectors benefiting from the forecast. The value of the forecast program is expected to grow resulting from increasing HAB frequency and intensity under climate change as well as improvements in forecasting accuracy due to technological developments.