United States Blue Economy Valued at $373 billion

A report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Bureau of Economic Analysis has calculated that America’s marine economy accounted for 1.8 percent ($372.8 billion) of national GDP in 2018 and grew slightly faster than the nation’s economy as a whole.

In calculating the value of the blue economy for the first time, NOAA researchers began by developing a conceptual definition. Included in the geographical scope are the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone as well as “marginal seas” such as the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound, Long Island Sound, San Francisco Bay, and others. Also included is the U.S. shoreline directly along these bodies of water, the Great Lakes up to the international boundary with Canada and portions of inland waters where there is significant marine activity.

NOAA and BEA conducted research to estimate the ocean-related portion of production within a range of goods and services in these areas. BEA then identified the industries responsible for producing these goods and services and measured the output, value added, compensation, and employment associated with that production.

Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. “It is nearly impossible for most Americans to go a single day without eating, wearing or using products that come from or through our coastal communities.”

The marine sectors making the largest contributions to the nation’s gross domestic product, not adjusted for inflation, are:

• Tourism and recreation, including recreational fishing ($143 billion)
• National defense and public administration ($124 billion)
• Offshore minerals ($49 billion)
• Transportation and warehousing ($25 billion)
• Living resources, including commercial fishing and aquaculture ($13 billion)
• Ship and boat building ($9 billion)
• Power generation ($4 billion)
• Research and education ($3 billion)
• Construction ($2.5 billion)
• Professional and technical services ($31 million)

Businesses included in the report supported 2.3 million jobs in 2018, while marine-related gross domestic product grew 5.8% from 2017 to 2018, marginally faster than the 5.4% growth of the total U.S. gross domestic product as measured in current dollars.

Economic activity associated with the ocean economy is already embedded in BEA’s core statistics, including data on production, GDP, employment, and compensation. The ocean economy estimates pull these embedded data elements out of the core accounts and combines them in a unified framework that separately highlights activity associated with the ocean economy.

Mary Bohman, acting director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, said: “These prototype statistics offer a baseline for understanding the importance of the ocean economy, including recreation, seafood, transportation and ship building. Businesses, policymakers, and coastal communities can use these economic data as a compass as they chart the way forward.”

Gavin Carter of Opes Oceani said: “The ocean sector has enormous indirect impacts on the economy that still need to be fully assessed. For example, fisheries is essential to the nation’s food supply and diet, and shipping and ports underpin many other sectors of the economy.”

“This is the first time that we have had reliable statistics for the value of America’s Blue Economy and it is good starting point. There is a growing appreciation for the economic importance of the ocean sector.”

BEA is working with NOAA to develop methodology to include the value of blue technology into its statistics in the future.