An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century - California Ocean ...

of freight. Expansions and improvements to maritimefreight transportation will continue to be a key to thesuccess of the ocean and national economies.The rapid growth of the cruise ship industry, nowoperating in virtually all coastal regions, representsboth an important new dimension to the marinetransportation industry and is a part of the rapidlygrowing tourism and recreation industry. The cruiseship industry offers both significant economic developmentopportunities to the communities served bythe industry and new challenges in community planningand environmental management as the equivalentof major resort hotels move up and down the coast.Minerals The offshore oil and gas industryremains an important source of energy for the nation,albeit a controversial one. Like maritime transportation,employment in this industry is declining asefficiency improvements and changing output levelsaffect the industry. Also like maritime transportation,offshore oil and gas will continue to play an importantpart in the economy. Uses of other ocean minerals,like sand and gravel, are not currently large enoughto play a significant role in the ocean economy, butmay play a larger role in the future.Tourism and Recreation The explosive growth ofcoastal and ocean tourism and recreation dominatesthe story of the ocean economy over the last decade,and this is likely to be the case for the foreseeablefuture. The growth in tourism and recreation is partof the reason for the rapid growth in employmentand economic activity in the near shore regions,meaning that the issues discussed above concerningthose trends are part of the story of tourism andrecreation growth. Seasonal population and housinggrowth is also part of the story. While much attentionhas been devoted to promoting sustainable forms of“ecotourism” in coastal regions, it is clear that it isthe overall growth of tourism and recreation activitiesin coastal areas that requires the greatest attention.There is also likely to be an increasing tie betweenpopulation growth and tourism and recreation growthin coastal areas. As the baby boom generation movesinto retirement in the next two decades, many willseek to permanently re-locate to the coastal regionswhere they have previously enjoyed vacations. Manycoastal regions will develop sharp age structureimbalances, coming to be dominated by retireesand the aged.C 18A N O CEAN B LUEPRINT FOR THE 21ST C ENTURY