June 28, 2021 — The nation’s maritime economy grew at pace that nearly doubled the growth of the entire U.S. GDP in 2019.
GDP stands for gross domestic product and reflects the total market value of all finished goods and services in a specific time frame. It is used to estimate the size of an economy and its growth rate – a sort of comprehensive scorecard of a country’s economic health.
A first-ever report released this month by the U.S. Department of Commerce showed that the so-called “blue economy” grew by 4.2% and generated nearly $400 billion to the GDP.
Along with the oceans, the report includes the Great Lakes and looks at the contributions from shoreside businesses. Those businesses generated almost $666 billion in sales in 2019 and supported 2.4 million jobs.
Commercial fishing, including aquaculture, contributed $27 billion making it the sixth-largest segment of the blue economy.
The top marine economic activity in 2019 was tourism and recreation, including coastal trips and travel, and offshore boating and fishing. That accounted for 35.3% of gross output totaling $235 billion.