Under the focus area on “sustainable fisheries and aquaculture”, the following industries were identified as the initial target beneficiaries of the REEO projects conducted or funded by the MASGC, namely: (1) commercial fishing, (2) seafood processing, (3) seafood wholesaling, (4) seafood retailing, (5) marine aquaculture and (6) live bait dealers.
The MASGC (2014) uses its research, outreach and education capabilities to improve the safety of seafood, educate consumers on choosing nutritious and sustainable products and expand sustainable practices for seafood harvest and aquaculture production.
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:
- Commercial fishing
- Seafood processing
- Seafood wholesaling
- Seafood importing
- Fish and seafood markets
- Seafood restaurants
- Marine aquaculture
- Livebait dealers
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.