URI’s
Coastal Resources Center leads major statewide initiative on Rhode Island’s
‘blue economy’
The University of Rhode Island’s
Coastal Resources Center is leading a statewide initiative to document the
Ocean State’s robust “Blue Economy’’ – the vast array of businesses, industries
and institutions tied to the state’s waters. The initiative will serve as the
catalyst to promote and enhance this vital sector.
“The initiative’s overall goal is to
build a thriving network among Rhode Island’s ocean industries, which promotes
innovation and cooperation, and leverages the public-private partnerships URI
has built over decades of research, education and collaboration,” said URI
President David M. Dooley.
The study, backed by the Graduate School of Oceanography and Rhode Island Sea Grant, may be one of the first to compile a complete picture of the state’s ocean economy into a single source.
The study, backed by the Graduate School of Oceanography and Rhode Island Sea Grant, may be one of the first to compile a complete picture of the state’s ocean economy into a single source.
The “blue economy” is a wide-ranging
sector comprising industries such as defense, recreation and tourism, marine
construction and transportation, boat and ship building, offshore energy,
commercial and recreational fishing, hatcheries and aquaculture, and research
and education.
“Our state recognizes URI as an integral component to our blue economy,” said Jennifer McCann, director of U.S. coastal programs for the Coastal Resources Center and extension director of RI Sea Grant, “whether it be research from ocean engineers to oceanographers to social scientists, to helping with policy development to outreach and education. Part of our job at the CRC is to provide public service to Rhode Island.”
McCann said that Rhode Island’s blue
economy is viscerally connected to other key components of the quality of life
associated with the state. “Environmental and social quality are directly
related and all of our efforts, including the blue economy work, emphasizes
this,” she said.
The “Blue Economy” report, which was
started in July, will build off existing research compiled by federal, regional
and state agencies, trade and industry publications, even company websites in
burgeoning industries, said McCann, who is leading the initiative.
Those various sources – while
incomplete and overlapping – present a picture of a robust sector.
A North Atlantic Oceanic Atmospheric
Administration calculation pegs Rhode Island’s ocean economy at $2.6 billion as
of 2015 – 4.6 percent of the state’s total economy.
NOAA reports 2,352 companies in the sector, employing 42,876 workers.
But NOAA’s calculations fail to include such sectors as the state’s powerful, ocean-focused defense industry and the burgeoning offshore renewable energy industry, said Samuel Poli ‘16, a Sea Grant fellow and member of URI’s Masters of Environmental Science and Management program who is being mentored by McCann as he works on the blue economy team and researches the report.
Also, NOAA calculations, he said, exclude some companies that are indirectly tied to the ocean economy, such as material or equipment suppliers for marine construction.
NOAA reports 2,352 companies in the sector, employing 42,876 workers.
But NOAA’s calculations fail to include such sectors as the state’s powerful, ocean-focused defense industry and the burgeoning offshore renewable energy industry, said Samuel Poli ‘16, a Sea Grant fellow and member of URI’s Masters of Environmental Science and Management program who is being mentored by McCann as he works on the blue economy team and researches the report.
Also, NOAA calculations, he said, exclude some companies that are indirectly tied to the ocean economy, such as material or equipment suppliers for marine construction.
The defense industry itself had an
indirect effect of $4.3 billion on the state economy in 2016, according to data
from the Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance (SENEDIA). Between
the Department of Defense and private contractors, about 11,600 were employed
in defense in 2016.
Rhode Island’s offshore renewable
energy sector – now comprised solely of Deepwater Wind’s windfarm off Block
Island – employed 300 workers, Poli said, but 41 percent of the money spent on
offshore wind energy is tied to continued operations. The U.S. Department of
Energy projects 16,700 jobs in wind energy in the Northeast by 2028, Poli said.
The marine trades sectors, including
marine construction, ship and boat building, marine services and supply firms,
contributed $4.6 billion and nearly 27,000 jobs to the state economy in 2016,
according to a study compiled by URI and the Rhode Island Marine Trades
Association.
Along with existing sources, McCann
said, she and her team are meeting with industry leaders, such as
representatives of SENEDIA, to examine partnership opportunities, identify
issues and challenges, verify data and fill in any gaps, such as companies in
the sector that may have gone unreported.
Among URI’s partners in the initiative is the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation.
Among URI’s partners in the initiative is the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation.
The report will be unveiled in
spring 2019. As the report is compiled, the Coastal Resource Center will
partner with ocean economy institutions for three public networking events. The
events will showcase the benefits different industries have on the blue
economy, along with highlighting the work GSO and CRC have already done in the
area of ecosystem management for coastal and ocean resources.
That work has included the Ocean
Special Area Management Plan, which provided interdisciplinary, science-based
solutions for offshore energy that helped make the Block Island windfarm the
first offshore windfarm in the country; the Beach Special Area Management Plan,
which provided guidelines to the state’s coastal communities to improve
resiliency to flooding and erosion; and efforts in the state’s growing
aquaculture industry, where CRC, government leaders, businesses and shellfish
farm host communities collaborated to grow the industry while safeguarding
environmental health and recreational opportunities.
“The cool thing about being in Rhode
Island is that we are innovators,” McCann said. “The OceanSAMP and BeachSAMP –
and other things we do – are being replicated in other states and countries.”
With the blue economy initiative,
URI is looking to continue those successful collaborations, but also foster a
cohesive network of ocean economy industries that interact on common issues and
share knowledge.
“We have these strong entities
within our blue economy, but nobody is really talking to each other. There’s
not that synergistic activity happening in the center. You have a thriving
aquaculture industry and a thriving marine trades industry. The defense
industry is practically top in the world. But there’s little interaction
between those entities.”
“Part of the initiative is to figure
out what we have, and as we figure that out we’re also informing people,
getting people together, building the network,” said J.P. Walsh, director of
the Coastal Resources Center. “Through that process, it highlights the
opportunities for growth, integration and collaboration. All of those things
that will make the economy which we have – which is great – able to grow even
further. And grow it right so it benefits the state.’’
The Coastal Resources Center at the
URI Graduate School of Oceanography works with a diverse group of partners and
stakeholders to create and implement policies and programs that address coastal
resources management challenges in the state, country and around the world. The
CRC has nearly 50 years of experience applying science-based solutions to
issues such as sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, climate change, marine
spatial planning, marine conservation, community planning, governance, capacity
building and other issues as they relate to integrated coastal management.
On Nov. 6, Rhode Islanders will
vote on referendum No. 2, a $70 million higher education general obligation
bond that includes $45 million for upgrades to the Narragansett Bay Campus. If
approved, proceeds from the bond will be used to improve the GSO’s pier
(required to accommodate a newly awarded Regional Class Research Vessel from
the National Science Foundation valued at more than $100 million), construct a
20,000-square-foot Ocean Technology building, a Marine Operations building and
fund other necessary improvements to campus facilities.