Under the focus area on “resilient communities and economies”, the following industries were identified as the preliminary target beneficiaries of the REEO projects conducted or funded by the MASGC, namely: (1) working waterfronts, (2) commercial marinas, (3) charter boats for-hire, (4) saltwater recreational fishing, (5) wildlife watching, (6) coastal restoration and (6) ship building and repair.
Cutting-edge research in the areas of climate change, coastal processes, energy efficiency, hazards, stormwater management and tourism is the basis for MASGC (2014) work with local communities regarding resilience. The MASGC (2014) team works with growing coastal populations to apply the best-available scientific knowledge to coastal issues, such as increased demands on resources and vulnerability to coastal storms.
The U.S. industries and economic sectors were identified through the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS, 2014). Each industry or sector was identified with a NAICS code and an industry or sector name. The most recent economic indicators about these industries or sectors were compiled from various secondary sources or estimated by using economic impact analysis.
The most current economic indicators include total sales impacts and total job or employment impacts which are mostly estimated under an IMPLAN (MIG, 2014) platform. In some cases, the direct employment or job impacts were compiled using the Economic Modeling Specialists (EMSI, 2014) software and data for the states of Alabama and Mississippi.
These economic indicators provide the benchmarks for estimating the marginal economic impacts of each MASGC research, education, extension and outreach project undertaken or which will be conducted in the region. These economic values represent the upper limit of the market impacts of these economic sectors.
The long-term economic contributions of these sectors in the regional economies of Mississippi and Alabama are as follows:
- Working waterfronts
- Commercial marinas
- Charter boats for-hire
- Marine recreational fishing
- Freshwater recreational fishing
- Coastal restoration
- Ship building and repairing
- Wildlife watching
- Hunting
Source: Posadas, Benedict C. 2014. Economic Sectors Targeted By The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Research, Extension, Education And Outreach Programs. Mississippi State University Extension Service Publication 2849 and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Publication MASGP-14-007. Mississippi State, Mississippi.