April 5, 2017 — The Massachusetts maritime economy grew faster than the state’s economy as a whole from 2005 to 2015 despite declines in commercial fishing and seafood processing.
Those findings, contained in an analysis of the state’s maritime economy by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Public Policy Center, paint a portrait of a maritime economy in transition while providing a potential template for future maritime growth in Gloucester.
The analysis said the state maritime economy includes 5,555 establishments that pay $3.4 billion in total wages to 90,482 workers. It produced $6.4 billion in gross state product and represents 2.6 percent of the state’s direct employment.
“Massachusetts has the largest maritime economy in terms of employment and GSP among New England coastal states,” according to the analysis funded by the state Seaport Council and released Tuesday.
According to the findings, the maritime economy saw robust growth in employment (up 18.2 percent) and gross state product (up 48 percent) from 2005 to 2015 — each significantly higher than totals for other segments of the state’s overall economy.
But the news isn’t nearly as positive within the living resources sector of the maritime economy, which includes fish hatcheries, fishing, seafood markets and seafood processing.