A new report compiled by NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) indicates the U.S. marine economy shrank in 2020, largely due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report analyzed data from multiple marine-related economies, including coastal tourism, offshore minerals, marine transportation, and more. Across all categories, the report found that the marine economy shrunk 5.8 percent, or USD 23 billion (EUR 21.5 million) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That loss is larger than the general economy’s decline of 3.4 percent, and highlights the importance of the marine economy to the U.S., officials said.
“Our oceans and Great Lakes are essential to America’s overall economy, as it is nearly impossible to go a day without eating, wearing or using items that come from or through our ports,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said. “These economic data are essential for understanding how the marine economy influences coastal communities and the American economy as a whole.”
Across the 10 sectors, only three experienced growth in 2020: National defense and public administration, living resources such as fisheries and other biological products, and research and education.
The seafood sector falls under living resources, and while overall the sector posted positive growth, for commercial seafood the news wasn’t as positive. According to the BEA data the commercial harvest, seafood markets, and processing saw a contraction in value from USD 10.96 billion (EUR 10.2 billion) in 2019 to USD 10.61 billion (EUR 9.96 million) in 2020, a loss of USD 357 million (EUR 335 million).
That loss is broken down into two categories: commercial harvest and seafood markets, and seafood processing. Commercial harvest and seafood markets decreased from USD 7.76 billion (EUR 7.29 billion) in 2019 to USD 7.46 billion (EUR 7.01 billion) in 2020, while seafood processing saw a smaller contraction from USD 3.29 billion (EUR 3.09 billion) in 2019 to USD 3.22 billion (EUR 3.02 billion) in 2020.
The increase in the living resources earnings stemmed entirely from increasesin earnings from marine-based pharmaceuticals, which increased from USD 1.49 billion (EUR 1.40 billion) in 2019 to USD 2.20 billion (EUR 2.06 billion) in 2020. NOAA Chief Economist Monica Grasso associated the increase with federal efforts on cancer research.
“Of particular note, the marine-based pharmacy industry, one of the components of the Living Resources sector, had an increase of almost 50 precent in sales, due to the approval of new marine-based drugs for cancer treatment,” Grasso said. “Such gains can contribute to President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative to reignite progress in cancer research and treatments.”
Among other marine economy sectors, coastal tourism and recreation took the biggest hit in 2020. The output levels, according to the BEA, decreased from USD 237.6 billion (EUR 223.6 billion) in 2019 to USD 190.9 billion (EUR 179.7 billion) in 2020, a decrease of 20 percent – or USD 46.7 billion (EUR 43.9 billion).
Photo courtesy of NOAA Fisheries
