Contribution of activities to marine economy wage and salary earners in New Zealand

The marine economy covers six broad categories of direct activities that take place within the marine economy:
- Fisheries and aquaculture: With the introduction of the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone in 1977 and the introduction of the quota management system in 1986, New Zealand companies invested in fishing vessels and factories to catch and process available catch. A minor amount of these activities may be operated on the freshwater rather than the marine environment.
- Marine services: includes marine surveying/mapping and marine business/consulting services in addition to services to water transport. This class includes units engaged in services such as lighterage, navigation, pilotage, towing and tugboat services, and ship registration and agency services. It is considered to be predominantly marine based. In the case of surveying/mapping and marine business/consulting services, the split between units engaged in marine and non-marine activity could not be identified.
- Marine tourism and recreation: includes recreational fishing, coastal and marine tourism, cruise ships, leisure craft services, marinas, and marine equipment retailing. Restaurants, lodgings, and recreation or tour services dependent on the marine environment for their operation is also within scope.
- Offshore minerals (mainly oil and gas): in New Zealand most of oil and gas extraction is offshore, covering units engaged in oil and gas extraction and petroleum exploration. Units engaged primarily in oil and gas field support services are excluded as they are recorded under an ANZSIC06 B10900 other mining support services.
- Shipping: includes units within scope of the marine economy but also makes up part of ANZSIC06 division C manufacturing, and division I transport, postal, and warehousing. It also includes units engaged in shipbuilding and repair services, boatbuilding and repair services, water freight transport, water passenger transport, stevedoring services, and port and water transport terminal operations. Some of these activities may be on fresh water rather than the marine environment but most units in these industries are marine based.

Coverage for marine tourism and recreation is greater in 2017 than for earlier years due to changes in the collection methodology.
Revisions to 2015 and 2016 National Accounts data has resulted in revised figures for these years.
Value added data for government and defence is from the local authority census with data availability from 2009.
Value added is not available for marine tourism and recreation and marine services for 2007 and 2008 do to a change in survey design.

At URL provided, download 'Marine economy account: 2007–2023 – CSV'.

The marine economy provides information about the economic activities that took place in, or used, the marine environment, or that produced goods and services necessary for those activities, and made a direct contribution to the national economy.

Our marine environment is intricately linked to our society and economy. Almost all our imports and exports, both by value and volume, pass through the marine environment; most of our oil and gas reserves are located offshore; and our fishing industry is significant. Yet there is limited understanding of how much these and other activities together contribute to New Zealand’s economy.

The number of jobs and gross earnings are derived from the Linked Employer-Employee Data (LEED). Other figures are calculated based on the Annual Enterprise Survey, the Overseas Merchandise Trade, and other national accounts.