Ocean-Based
Economy

The ocean-based economy harnesses the ocean and Great Lakes’ potential in a way that drives sustainable growth, improves livelihoods, and protects natural resources for generations to come. Ocean economy industries include fisheries and aquaculture, maritime transport, offshore energy, marine technology, coastal resilience efforts, tourism, recreation, and more. Combined, they account for $476.2 billion of U.S. gross domestic product.

Ocean economy industries are rapidly expanding, as is demand for reliable ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes observations to support them. IOOS Regional Associations play a crucial role in driving innovation, scientific research, and U.S. ocean economy leadership—but they also safeguard the livelihoods of everyday American business owners and the nearly 130 million people who reside in coastal counties.

IOOS in Action

Even if you live far from the coast, you benefit from the work of an IOOS Regional Association. IOOS data and information tools are instrumental in advancing an ocean-based economy that is safe, efficient, sustainable, and strong.

  • Help protect food supplies and drinking water through detection and monitoring of HABs and other environmental threats to public health
  • Assist mariners in identifying safe (and unsafe!) working and operating conditions
  • Improve weather forecasting capabilities and weather sensing infrastructure
  • Bolster safety for beach-goers, surfers, and other recreational activities
  • Work with partners, such as Marine Exchanges, to monitor weather conditions and track vessels as they move through our waterways and ports
  • Help communities and local businesses prepare for extreme events such as flooding, storm surge, and tsunamis
  • Support technological innovation through research, development, and testing of new ocean sensors, instruments, and platforms
  • Provide citing and planning assistance for offshore industry
  • Help resource managers establish sustainable quotas

A 2021 external study of the value of the IOOS Regional Observing Systems found it lies between $192 million and $233 million per year – just to initial users of the regional systems. This represents an economic value approximately five times greater than the current yearly investment in the system.

Here’s what IOOS data and information users are saying!

Our Partners in Action: IOOS Making a Difference

CODAR would suffer substantial financial hardship if our local IOOS region, CeNCOOS, and the other IOOS Regional Associations were to lose funding. This would result in layoffs of manufacturing and field service employees and a substantial slowdown of R&D for a U.S. company that is currently the world leading manufacturer of Oceanographic High Frequency Radar used for search & rescue, spill response, and coastal ocean sciences.

Chad Whelan, CODAR Ocean Sensors

IOOS infrastructure projects directly support the R&D efforts of local sensor manufacturers and their ability to develop technology needed to measure ocean change and the climate crises. Without sustained funding, there will be data gaps in critical ocean monitoring and opportunities to leverage new technologies will be lost.

Daniel Nelson, RBR Ltd.

As a minority and woman-owned business developing cutting edge scientific tools for ocean research, if the IOOS program was not funded, steady jobs in a seasonal economy may be threatened.

Yuki A. Honjo, McLane Research Laboratories

IOOS data has been essential to my work siting, characterizing, and planning offshore energy projects on all coasts of the United States. Our oceanography and energy communities would face a substantial set-back without the coordination, quality, and knowledge of the regional IOOS associations. Without IOOS, a critical capacity for engagement, coordination, information-sharing, and safety would be lost.

Sarah McElman, Metocean Expert Americas

The IOOS system is vital to our boat cruise operations. We use multiple buoys to monitor offshore sea conditions to ensure a safe and comfortable boating experience for our passengers and crew. If we lose any aspect or part of this network, it could have major impacts to vessel safety and the ability to properly run our business. The data collected by the IOOS system (NERACOOS) is vital to understanding how the Gulf of Maine is changing and impacting the movements of prey for whales. Our naturalists, captains, and research assistants utilize sea surface temperature for research purposes and to monitor the conditions of the offshore locations we explore to find whales and other wildlife.

Julianne Taylor, Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company

Ocean observations are vital to Fathom Science’s work in modeling and predicting the ocean, especially near shore. Fathom’s products can increase efficiency and safety and lower emissions of many marine / maritime sectors. We highly value IOOS data and services for our operations.

Jennifer Warrillow, Fathom Science, Inc.

Charter Boat captains, like myself, depend on the data supplied by the buoys that IOOS (GLOS) deploys and services. Without these, our customers and we would not be able to monitor conditions on the lake prior to physically going out on them.

David J. Ellis, Salmon Slayer Sportfishing

We rely upon the data generated by PacIOOS to support our work with non-profits, private businesses, and local government-funded grants to protect the quality of ocean and fresh water resources. Without PacIOOS, we do not have the technical capacity to gather such data about the complex and ever-changing water environment, putting our low-lying coastal communities at greater risk from the impacts of climate change and sea level rise.

Robin Knox, Water Quality Consulting, Inc.