Seafood Economics

Mississippi Seafood Industry

The seafood industry comprises commercial harvesting, processing, importing, wholesaling, and retailing establishments.

• Commercial harvesting or fishing corresponds to finfish fishing and shellfish fishing. It comprises commercial fishermen using various gears onboard large vessels and small boats.
• Seafood processing primarily corresponds to seafood canning and fresh and frozen seafood processing. It involves plants engaged in the primary wholesale and processing of seafood products.
• Seafood imports were added to the seafood industry in 2007. It comprises establishments that buy seafood products from countries of origin outside the United States.
• Seafood wholesaling corresponds to fish and seafood merchant wholesalers. It includes secondary wholesale and processing of seafood products.
• Seafood retailing includes seafood and fish markets and seafood restaurants.
• Seafood and fish markets correspond to the retail trade of fish and seafood products.
• Seafood restaurants include the retail trade of seafood products by eating and drinking places.

​The 2012 estimates of the economic contributions of the seafood industry were compiled from NOAA Fisheries.

Components of Economic Impacts

• The total economic impact is the sum of direct, indirect, and induced impacts.
• Direct impacts express the economic impacts in the sector where the expenditure was initially made.
• Indirect impacts result from changes in the economic activity of other industrial sectors that supply goods or services to the sector being evaluated.
• Induced impacts are the result of industry employees' personal consumption expenditures.

Types of Economic Impacts

• There are four types of economic impacts – output or sales, jobs, income, and value-added. These impacts are not additive. Each type represents a specific economic activity reported.
• Income, value-added, and output impacts are expressed in dollars for the year specified by the user.
• Output or sales are the gross sales by businesses within the economic region affected by an activity.
• Labor income includes personal income such as wages and salaries and proprietors' income or income from self-employment.
• Employment impacts are expressed in terms of a mix of both full-time and part-time jobs.

Economic Contributions of Mississippi Seafood Industry

• The seafood industry comprises commercial harvesting, processing, importing, wholesaling, and retailing establishments.
• The Mississippi seafood industry produced $329 million in sales in 2022. This amount represents about 0.18% of the overall U.S. seafood industry.
• A total of 6,954 jobs were created in Mississippi by the seafood industry in 2022, adding 0.44% of the total U.S. seafood industry.
• The Mississippi seafood industry generated labor income amounting to $127 million in 2022, contributing 0.27% to the total U.S. seafood industry.
• The total value-added by the Mississippi seafood industry reached $165 million in 2022, about 0.22% of the total U.S. seafood industry.