The Virginia seafood industry generated $1.1 billion in business in Virginia in 2019, according to a new economic impact analysis conducted by the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center of Virginia Tech.
The study found that the seafood industry supported 7,187 jobs and generated more than $26 million in tax revenues for the Commonwealth.
The project was led by Jonathan van Senten, a seafood economist at the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
“We worked directly with watermen, aquaculture farmers, seafood processors, and distributors to collect data to build a custom economic model,” van Senten said. “In addition to the direct effects of industry activities, the custom model allowed us to more accurately capture the ripple effects that stem from business-to-business purchases and workers spending their wages. And our results are conservative.
“The assessment covers the production, processing, and distribution sectors of the Virginia seafood industry, but it did not include retail and restaurant services or the spillover benefits to economies outside Virginia,” van Senten said.
Virginia’s seafood industry provides valuable employment opportunities, and it supports other economic sectors operating within and beyond the commonwealth that amplify the economic contribution.
“Virginia’s seafood industry is one of the oldest industries in the United States and one of the commonwealth’s largest. This study provides a snapshot of the industry’s tremendous impact to Virginia’s economy,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. “The $1.1 billion industry not only provides a boost to our economy, it also provides valuable employment opportunities in eastern Virginia, and supports a range of other economic sectors.”
The full report, infographic, and fact sheet are published through Virginia Cooperative Extension and are available online.
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Chris Graham
