Fishing and boating add billions to Australia’s economy

The Blue Economy has made a significant contribution to Australia's prosperity and is increasingly recognised around the world as a high value, high potential growth sector.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) biennial industry update reveals that Australia’s marine industries contributed $74.2 billion to the national economy in 2013-14.

This accounts for 4.8 per cent of national Gross Domestic Product and directly and indirectly provides almost 400,000 jobs.

HOW BIG IS THE BLUE ECONOMY?
The AIMS Index of Marine Industry assesses the size of Australia’s so-called Blue Economy.

The economic contributions made by fishing, boat and ship building, repair and maintenance services and infrastructure, marine tourism and recreational activities, water transport, and offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction are all taken into account.

The total economic value is measured by the value-add that marine industries generate directly, plus the indirect contribution made to other industries.

In total, Australia’s marine industries contributed $42.0 billion to value-add in 2013-14, with a further indirect $32.2 billion of value added in other industries.

RECREATIONAL BOATING AND FISHING
More than 85 per cent of Australia's population lives within 50km of the ocean, and more than 70 per cent of our nation's territory is beneath the ocean. It is therefore not surprising to see the important role the ocean plays in defining our national identity.

According to the AIMS report, recreational fishing contributed a staggering $2164.8m to the economy in 2013-14, compared with $1503.3m for commercial wild-capture fisheries.

An additional $1523.8m was attributed to recreational fishing as indirect value, amounting to a total value of $3688.6m, more than twice that of commercial wild fisheries and four times the value of marine-based aquaculture.

Boatbuilding and repair including recreational craft contributed $1235m in production. There was $429m in direct value and $736.2 million in indirect value, for a total value of $1165.2m to the economy.

The total economic contribution of marinas and boating infrastructure was $652.7m, while marine equipment retailing had a direct value in production of $1393m, however, it added just $380.7m to the economic bottom line. But retailing margins across all sectors are suffering as more people turn to spending their money on services.

While there were 3.36m fishers in Australia according to the stats, which drew on 2000-2001 data that may well be stale, there was no figure given for employment in the recreational fishing industry. Strangely.

The biggest employer besides tourism, transport and shipbuilding, according to the report, was boatbuilding, marine retailing and marinas.

BLUE ECONOMY TRENDS
Despite the expected increases in the value of gas and oil, there was a 4 per cent increase in the value of marine tourism and recreational activities between 2012-13 and 2013-14. This sector has shown a steady increase over time with an average year-on-year growth of 5 per cent since 2001-02.

Moderating these increases were recent contractions in the total level of activity in marine-based aquaculture, shipbuilding and repair (civil and defence), and marine equipment retailing.

The full Marine Industry report can be accessed on the AIMS website at www.aims.gov.au/aims-index-of-marine-industry.