Following a multi-day, statewide tour late last month, Representative Gabe Amo (D-R.I. 1) announced new legislation that would support Rhode Island’s emerging “blue economy.”
Amo’s Blue Economy and Innovation Act aims to bolster economic growth by advancing ocean science research and promoting the blue economy — a group of ocean-based industries including shipbuilding, coastal tourism, offshore wind and advanced marine manufacturing.
Between six and nine percent of Rhode Islanders are currently employed within the state’s blue economy, which is valued at over $5 billion.
“The blue economy is about jobs,” Amo said in a statement sent to The Herald. “It’s about leveraging Rhode Island’s natural strengths to increase economic prosperity and reach our sustainability goals.”
Blue economy development also increases access to “high-quality, good-paying jobs,” according to Matthew Touchette, Rhode Island Commerce’s director of communications. Jobs in ocean-based industries are predominantly high-income and can be accessible to those without a college degree, he wrote in an email to The Herald.
The bill would direct federal investments to R.I.’s Ocean Tech Hub, the only Regional Technology and Innovation Hub in the country that is focused on advancing ocean technology. The funds would support new research initiatives, increase the workforce and create new technologies to “address challenges that affect ocean science,” the press release reads.
Amo’s bill follows previous attempts to expand blue economy industries in the Ocean State. In 2020, the Rhode Island Economic Development Planning Council approved a long-term economic plan which proposed investments in ocean research projects and outlined support for marine technology development.
R.I. Commerce currently runs an innovation voucher grant program that pairs small businesses with “knowledge partners” like universities and hospitals to facilitate technology development. The agency also “supports internships for start-ups in engineering and makes investments in our ports, offshore wind and ocean tech facilities,” Touchette wrote.
And investments in blue economy initiatives have caused “impressive ecosystem growth” with the addition of companies like Regent Craft, Jaia Robotics and Flux Marine, said Christian Cowan, the founder of 401 Tech Bridge, a Rhode Island-based non-profit that aims to connect blue economy business developers with state agencies and funding programs.
“Leveraging these new company establishments and listening to their needs … will ensure that momentum continues,” Cowan said.
But the job is far from over, Cowan said. “Additional investment and advocacy are needed to push economic growth acceleration,” he added.
