For Florida’s 18 million residents and nearly 80 million annual visitors, the coast and its resources are a major attraction and a vital part of their environment. Nowhere in the United States are so many people in such close proximity to such an extensive and economically valuable coastline. Florida’s population in the “coastal corridor,” the 35 counties that touch the ocean, is over 14 million and expected to grow to 23 million by 2025. The coastal corridor is responsible for 79 percent of the state’s economic output, jobs and value-added income. The state’s annual ocean-related economy is estimated at $25 billion dollars and its shoreline coastal economy exceeds $550 billion. A visit to Florida’s coast reveals incomparable natural beauty. It also reveals a set of resources for which intense competition exists. Recreational and commercial fisheries, recreational beach activities, boating, marinas, marine industries, unique ecosystems, productive wetlands, urban and rural development and the amenity-based economic and social lives of our coastal communities all are combined to place Florida’s coastal development and resource protection in a fragile balance. Working together, all Floridians must find a socially acceptable way to satisfy the demand for the coastal and marine resources while also ensuring their sustainability.
Increasing populations along the coast, increasing dependence on coastal waters for food, employment and recreation, and a host of other socio-economic changes make Florida Sea Grant’s role in advancing the understanding and sustainable use of coastal resources more critical. Looking ahead, population increases will continue to tax the efforts of coastal planners and community leaders. Hurricanes and other natural disasters will continue to impact our natural and built coastal environment, and climate-related changes including sea level rise will create long-term stress requiring purposeful and strategic adaptations. Florida Sea Grant, with its partner institutions, will continue to be a leader in addressing the anticipated economic and environmental impacts on the coastal and marine environment through science-based research, education and extension.
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