Celebrate National Estuaries Day on September 25, 2010

Estuaries are places where freshwater mixes with salty water from the sea. Teeming with life, our nation's estuaries provide vital habitats for 80 percent of the world's fish and shellfish species, including many that are listed as threatened or endangered. Estuaries are one of our nation's most valuable natural resources, creating more food per acre than the richest farmland.  

The significance of the economic value of our nation's estuaries becomes crystal clear when you consider the following statistics (taken from US Senate Resolution 596, designating September 25, 2010 as "National Estuaries Day"):

1. The estuary regions of the United States comprise a significant share of the national economy, with 43 percent of the population, 40 percent of the employment, and 49 percent of the economic output of the United States located in the estuary regions of the United States.
   
   

2. Coasts and estuaries contribute more than $800,000,000,000 annually in trade and commerce to the United States economy.
   
   

3. 43 percent of all adults in the United States visit a seacoast or estuary at least once a year to participate in some form of recreation, generating $8,000,000,000 to $12,000,000,000 in revenue annually.
   
   

4. 28,000,000 jobs in the United States are supported by commercial and recreational fishing, boating, tourism, and other coastal industries that rely on healthy estuaries.

Estuaries provide critical ecosystem services, also known as 'Natural Capital', that protect human health and public safety, including water filtration, flood control, shoreline stabilization and erosion prevention, the protection of coastal communities during extreme weather events, climate stabilization, and maintenance of soil fertility. Overharvesting or direct forms of manipulation (paving, soil erosion, seawalls, etc.) that deplete Natural Capital have resulted in degraded ecosystem services.

Natural Capital must be quantified and understood in its economic dimensions to avoid its destruction by markets that underestimate its value.

"The ecological landscape of Sarasota Bay provides a treasure trove of Natural Capital. These assets are the very foundation upon which our regions quality of life and economic success are built.  Healthy ecosystems make very significant economic contributions, but often in ways that transcend conventional accounting."

         Sarasota Bay: Celebrating Our Water Heritage

Video script: Caroline McKeon 2008

The health of Sarasota Bay is inextricably linked to the economic vitality and quality of life we experience in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. To truly comprehend that impact to our community in economic terms we need to quantify the revenue generated to our local economy from jobs, recreational activities, ecotourism and other coastal industries that rely on a healthy estuary. Only then will we fully appreciate Sarasota Bay as a primary economic engine of our region and as our most important natural asset.