{"id":21912,"date":"2017-03-20T16:16:51","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T20:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/?p=9478"},"modified":"2024-05-21T15:54:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T19:54:11","slug":"building-a-blue-economy-in-north-carolina-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/building-a-blue-economy-in-north-carolina-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Blue Economy in North Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"
Photo: The largest sector of North Carolina\u2019s ocean economy is tourism and recreation. Photo by Roger Winstead\/NC State<\/em><\/p>\n The ocean economy contributed $2.1 billion and 43,385 jobs to North Carolina\u2019s economy in 2013, according to a new report by North Carolina Sea Grant and Duke University\u2019s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ocean and coastal resources played an even larger role in the state\u2019s coastal counties, providing 6.5 percent of gross domestic product, or GDP, and supporting 13 percent of employment. And according to \u201cNorth Carolina\u2019s Ocean Economy: A First Assessment and Transitioning to a Blue Economy<\/a>\u201d report co-author Tibor Vegh, these figures are most likely low.<\/p>\n