{"id":7459,"date":"2017-03-01T16:59:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T21:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=7459"},"modified":"2024-08-20T14:11:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T18:11:22","slug":"building-a-blue-economy-in-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/building-a-blue-economy-in-north-carolina\/","title":{"rendered":"BUILDING A BLUE ECONOMY IN NORTH CAROLINA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\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<\/a> and Duke University\u2019s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\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\u201d<\/a> report co-author Tibor Vegh, these figures are most likely low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur estimates represent a snapshot in time only for the sectors where we could find economic data,\u201d explains Vegh, a policy analyst with the Nicholas Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new report relies on NOAA\u2019s Economics: National Ocean Watch dataset and employment information from the U.S. Department of Labor to quantify a discrete \u201cocean economy.\u201d In North Carolina, this refers not just to activities that take place in the ocean, but also those that receive inputs or provide outputs to the ocean and coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n