Marine estate economic contribution
The marine estate plays an important role in the NSW economy. Through economic activity occurring around or facilitated by the marine estate, jobs are created, incomes are earned, and the state and regional economies are supported.
The development of a framework to estimate the economic value of the marine estate has now been completed. This work and the resulting NSW marine estate economic contribution and market insights report will inform ongoing management and investment in the marine estate and represents the completion of stage 1 of the Marine Estate Economic Valuation project.
The objectives of the report were to:
- estimate the market contribution of the marine estate to the NSW economy
- investigate drivers for economic changes and trends in the marine estate across a wide range of industries and regions
- identify future economic opportunities and challenges for the marine estate and the industries and regions that are dependent on it.
What aspects does the report consider?
Geographical Boundaries – Marine income was analysed at a state-wide and regional scale with 15 regions based on the functional economic region level. Data for Newcastle and Sydney were also included, as well as for inland functional economic regions.
Marine industries – Industries were selected for the study based on 3 main criteria:
- direct dependence on the marine estate. This extended to industries beyond 3 nautical miles where industries were deemed to rely on the marine estate, even where their main operations occurred beyond those boundaries.
- availability of State-level data with the potential to be linked to more granular data sources where applicable.
- comparability with other similar national and international studies.
27 industries were considered dependent on the marine estate, but only 21 had available data. Lists of these industries are provided in the Frequently Asked Questions section below.
Timeframe – The analysis spans five financial years from 2017-2018 to 2021-2022. The first year was chosen as 2017-2018 to reflect the usual operations and economic output of the NSW marine estate before being heavily impacted by COVID-19.
Repeatable – Source data was selected based on its cost-effectiveness and availability in future to inform periodical review to track trends in value over time.
Key findings of the report are:
- It’s big – In 2021-22, the marine estate contributed $16.2 billion in value added (2.5% of NSW economy) and approximately 103,800 jobs (2.4% of NSW employment).
- It’s highly diverse – 27 industries are directly dependent on the marine estate and include consumer activities like tourism and recreation, industrial activities like ship building and stevedoring, and government-funded activities like naval defence and scientific research. Tourism is the largest industry generating $6.1 billion in income, followed by defence, and sewerage and drainage.
- It’s valuable to regional areas – 53% of marine estate income is derived from regional areas. The largest incomes are Central Coast and Lake Macquarie ($1.3 billion), Newcastle ($1.3 billion) and Shoalhaven ($922 million). Key regional industries are tourism, recreational activities other than fishing, and port and water transport terminal operations.
- Marine Industries have experienced significant change – due to external factors such as COVID-19, economic conditions, and extreme weather events over 5 years (2018-2022). Over the same period, tourism experienced the largest decline in income of $2.8 billion (32%), while defence experienced the largest increase in income of around $1 billion.
- 63% of income generated by industries depends on the health of the marine estate – highlighting the need for careful management and protection of this environmental asset to support continued economic activity.
- Marine industries will be impacted by a range of external factors in future – including climate change, energy transition, emerging technologies, demographic shifts, and global linkages.
In addition to its economic contribution, the marine estate also provides broader social, cultural and environmental benefits. The non-market value associated with the NSW marine estate is likely to be significant and will be investigated in subsequent stages of the Marine Estate Economic Valuation Project.
Frequently asked questions
1. What does 'economic contribution' mean?
Economic contribution is defined as the gross changes in a given geographical area’s economic activity that can be attributed to marine industries.
It is measured by income, value added and employment, which are appropriate economic activity metrics in this context.
2. What is value added?
Value added refers to the increase in value that an industry or production process brings to a product or service through various stages of production such as manufacturing, distribution and marketing.
For example, a fishing company purchases items such as fishing gear, bait and fuel for $600. The company’s fishing activities then produce a catch which they sell for $1,000. Subtracting the cost of gear, bait and fuel from the sale of the catch, the value added is $400 ($1,000 minus $600). This $400 represents the increase in value the company has generated through its production processes.
3. What industries are included in the report?
27 industries considered dependent on the marine estate were included in the study. They are:
| Aquaculture | Other water transport support services |
| Boatbuilding | Port & water transport terminal operations |
| Commercial fishing | Search and rescue |
| Marine biotechnology (Q) | Shipbuilding |
| Marine equipment retailing | Stevedoring services |
| Recreational fishing | Tourism |
| Desalination | Undersea cables (Q) |
| Dredging | Water transport |
| Seabed mining (Q) | Marinas and boating infrastructure |
| Oil & gas exploration & production (Q) | Marine estate management |
| Sand dune mining (Q) | Scientific research and education |
| Salt production (Q) | Defence |
| Offshore renewables | Sewerage and drainage |
| Recreational activities other than fishing |
* Industries labelled (Q) are analysed in qualitative terms only due to data limitations.
4. What industries are dependent on a healthy marine estate?
A healthy marine estate is defined as exhibiting clean water and biologically diverse marine life. The following 16 industries were identified as being dependent on a healthy marine estate:
| Aquaculture | Other water transport support services |
| Commercial fishing | Port & water transport terminal operations |
| Marine biotechnology | Search and rescue |
| Marine equipment retailing | Water transport |
| Recreational fishing | Tourism |
| Desalination | Marinas and boating infrastructure |
| Offshore renewables | Marine estate management |
| Recreational activities other than fishing | Scientific research and education |
5. Why are some industries that potentially harm the environment included?
To establish a comprehensive total economic valuation framework for the marine estate, it is essential to include all marine-based industries, even those that might have potential environmental impacts.
By incorporating these industries, a complete understanding of the economic dynamics can be gained, and informed decisions can be made concerning the sustainable use and preservation of the marine estate.
6. How does this work complement existing studies?
This work builds upon and integrates the findings of previous studies, presenting the information in a standardised manner to offer a more comprehensive overview of the NSW marine estate's contribution to the State's economy.
The data can be assessed holistically, by industry, or by region and can be accessed via the Marine Estate Economic dashboard.