The ocean economy expanded 9.9 percent in 2023 to P943.05 billion from P857.93 billion in 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.
It said the gross value added of ocean-based activities accounted for 3.9 percent of the gross domestic product at current prices.
The top three industries that registered the highest growths were coastal recreation (139.6 percent), coastal accommodation and food and beverage services activities (117.8 percent) and marine education (14.4 percent).
Among the industries, ocean fishing accounted for the largest share of 28.6 percent of the total ocean economy. This was followed by manufacture of ocean-based products (20.9 percent), sea-based transportation and storage (15.0 percent) and ocean-based power generation, transmission and distribution (10.3 percent).
The number of persons employed in ocean-based industries reached 2.42 million in 2023, up by 20.8 percent from 2 million persons employed in 2022.
