Economic impact of potential aquaculture production in Michigan, USA

Abstract

The state of Michigan, USA, places significant value on its fisheries—including fish for fun and fish as food. Commercial fishing has historically contributed to seafood production in Michigan (MI) and its decline is an opportunity for aquaculture to provide supplemental harvest and restoration activities. While recent work has evaluated the economic impacts of aquaculture in different areas of the United States, much is still unknown about aquaculture in Michigan, therefore limiting state resources towards industry growth. As a first step towards understanding the impacts of potential aquaculture growth in Michigan, we perform an economic impact analysis of increased aquaculture within the state. We use the input–output model IMPLAN to evaluate 12 scenarios across three different regions: the State of Michigan, Alcona County, MI, and Delta County, MI. We find that the economic impacts of aquaculture expansion vary by region and that each additional aquaculture job leads to $124,332 in output across the State of Michigan, while each job in Alcona County and Delta County leads to $60,546 and $64,197 in output, respectively. Additionally, our results suggest that beyond providing access to local food, aquaculture has the potential to create employment opportunities, improve community resilience, enhance fisheries management, and spur economic activity in Michigan.