How Americans Benefit From U.S. Oceans

America’s oceans provide tremendous value to our national economy each year. The oceans’ economic contributions are only one small measure of their value. We also love the oceans for their beauty and majesty, and for their intrinsic power to relax, rejuvenate, and inspire. Our oceans’ viability depends on the nation’s capacity to manage marine activities, and to conserve and protect the living coastal and ocean ecosystems.

The following are just a few economic ways in which Americans benefit from the ocean:

• America’s coastal waters support 28.3 million jobs and generate $54 billion in goods and services.

• The coastal recreation and tourism industry is the second largest employer in the nation, serving 180 million Americans who visit our coasts.

• The cruise industry accounts for $11 billion in spending.

• The commercial fish and shellfish industry contributes $28 billion to the economy.

• The recreational fishing industry contributes $20 billion to the economies. U.S. retail trade in ornamental fish is worth about $3 billion per year (USCOP, 2004).

A United Nations Report concludes that each square mile of tropical coral is worth 1 million dollars per year and that in Thailand, mangroves were worth $3.5 million per year.  What is much more difficult to quantify is the value of the biological goods and services that a healthy ocean provides which include recycling water, carbon dioxide, organic wastes, and providing coastal protection to millions that live along America’s shores.