Seafood Economics

Mississippi Seafood Industry

The seafood industry consists of commercial harvesting, seafood processing, seafood importing, seafood wholesaling, seafood and fish markets, and restaurant 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 comprises seafood canning and the processing of fresh and frozen seafood. It involves plants engaged in primary wholesale and processing of seafood products.
• Seafood importing was 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 are retail outlets for fish and seafood products.
• Seafood restaurants include the retail trade of seafood products by eating and drinking places.

The 2023 estimates of the economic contributions of the seafood industry were compiled from the NOAA Fisheries website.

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 in which the expenditure was initially made.
• Indirect impacts result from changes in economic activity of other industrial sectors that supply goods or services to the sector being evaluated.
• Induced impacts result from personal consumption expenditures by industry employees.

Types of Economic Impacts

• There are four types of economic impacts included in this report – 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 as a mix of full-time and part-time jobs.

Economic Contributions of Mississippi Seafood Industry in 2023

• The seafood industry comprises commercial harvesting, processing, importing, wholesaling, and retailing establishments.
• The Mississippi seafood industry produced $228.91 million in sales in 2023. This amount represents about 0.13% of the overall U.S. seafood industry.
• A total of 4,885 jobs were created in Mississippi by the seafood industry in 2023, accounting for 0.34% of the total U.S. seafood industry.
• The Mississippi seafood industry generated labor income of $89.17 million in 2023, accounting for 0.20% of the total U.S. seafood industry.
• The total value-added by the Mississippi seafood industry reached $115.51 million in 2023, about 0.17% of the total U.S. seafood industry.