Official US sources count six marine sectors: living resources, marine construction, marine transportation, offshore mineral extraction, ship and boat building, and tourism and recreation. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) put the US marine economy at 1.8 percent of national GDP, or $372.8 billion, in 2018, so the clearest numbers available are for sizing US sectors, not for ranking global ones.
What is the blue economy, and what do official sources count?
NOAA follows the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition. NOAA's terminology guide says its use of the term Ocean Economy corresponds to the OECD's: "The sum of the economic activities of ocean-based industries, together with the assets, goods and services provided by marine ecosystems."
NOAA's Office for Coastal Management uses a narrower working test when it counts jobs. A NOAA presentation on measuring the blue economy describes it as jobs that depend directly on marine resources, and it sorts industries using NAICS codes, the standard North American industry classification.
Ocean economy, marine economy, blue economy: which term is which?
The terms are not interchangeable, and the difference decides whether two figures can sit side by side. NOAA uses "ocean economy" for the concept. It uses "marine economy" for its quantified assessments of the US ocean economy, which feed the US Marine Economy Satellite Accounts. "Blue economy" is the common label that most readers search for.
When a number is called a marine economy figure, check which agency produced it and how it drew the boundary. That matters more than the label.
Which six sectors does NOAA track in the US?
NOAA's 2018 marine economy report lists living resources, marine construction, marine transportation, offshore mineral extraction, ship and boat building, and tourism and recreation. Its data cover jobs, GDP, establishments and wages for the economy that depends on the nation's oceans and Great Lakes.
BEA groups activity somewhat differently. Its account lists marine living resources, coastal and marine construction, marine research and education, marine transportation and warehousing, professional and technical services, and offshore minerals, among other groupings. BEA's list is wider than NOAA's six.
How big is the US marine economy?
The answer depends on whose total you use. BEA's prototype statistics show the marine economy accounted for 1.8 percent ($372.8 billion) of national GDP in 2018. NOAA's 2018 report gives $346 billion in goods and services. NOAA's 2020 report gives $258 billion.
| Source | Figure | Scope noted |
|---|---|---|
| BEA, 2018 | $372.8 billion (1.8% of GDP) | Includes marine-related production beyond the geographic area |
| NOAA report, 2018 data | $346 billion | Six sectors, oceans and Great Lakes |
| NOAA report, 2020 edition | $258 billion | Six sectors, oceans and Great Lakes |
BEA says its marine economy covers all US oceans, coasts, marginal seas and Great Lakes. Its full scope also takes in marine-related production that happens away from that geographic area. That wider boundary is one reason BEA's total sits above NOAA's. The two NOAA totals come from different reports, so quote each with its own report and year rather than comparing them as a trend.
Which US ocean sectors lead on value and jobs?
The rankings live in NOAA's data, not in a single headline number. Economics: National Ocean Watch (ENOW) gives employment, establishments, wages and GDP contribution by sector. NOAA's ENOW page lists coverage from 2001 to 2024 for the nation, 30 coastal states, 5 US territories and almost 500 coastal counties.
Updates to the original dataset have been paused. Open ENOW was built from public information to fill that gap. It covers the United States as a whole and the coastal portions of 30 states. Download either file, sort the six sectors by jobs and by GDP, and cite the year you used.
How large is the global ocean economy?
Do not quote a global total or a sector ranking without the primary source in front of you. The OECD is where NOAA's own definition comes from, and its ocean economy work is the place to check global value added by sector. Global figures also depend on how a country counts its sectors, so a US number cannot stand in for them.
How big is shipping and maritime transport?
In the United States, marine transportation is one of NOAA's six sectors, and BEA tracks it as marine transportation and warehousing. Shipbuilding appears separately in NOAA's list as ship and boat building. Both can be sized from the ENOW sector data.
For world trade volume and fleet size, go to UNCTAD's annual Review of Maritime Transport. Quote the edition year with whatever figure you take.
How big are marine tourism and recreation?
Tourism and recreation is a named NOAA sector, and ENOW reports it with the same four measures as the others: establishments, jobs, wages and GDP. To compare it with shipping, fisheries or construction, pull all six rows from one ENOW year and one geography. Mixing years or states makes the comparison meaningless.
How big is offshore energy, from oil and gas to offshore wind?
In US accounts, offshore oil and gas falls under offshore mineral extraction, which is one of NOAA's six sectors and appears as offshore minerals in BEA's groupings. Offshore wind is newer and has no sector of its own in NOAA's six, so a founder in that segment should say plainly which category the data came from.
Which sector should a founder aim at first?
Sell into large established sectors, such as marine transportation, and build in emerging ones, such as offshore wind. Established operators have budgets and buying habits you can learn. Emerging segments reward early work but take longer to produce revenue. Our guide to blue economy business ideas for students goes through where to start, and what recent investment signals in blue economy investment after Saronic covers how capital is moving.
If you are sizing a market for a deck and want a second pair of eyes on which number to cite, contact Founding Blue.