Measuring the Bay’s Worth
Recent activities at the Port of Tampa and Port Manatee reveal how these economic engines are bolstering our region during a difficult economic period, with projects that will have profound impacts for decades to come.

As the Panama Canal undergoes the largest expansion in its 94-year history, both ports are funding aggressive capital improvements that will allow them to handle giant container cargo ships. In November, the Port of Tampa will complete the first phases in a $75-million expansion of its container yard, enabling it to handle up to 200,000 TEUs, or 20-foot container equivalents. That’s in addition to improving terminals at Port Redwing and Hooker’s Point, and repairing the REK petroleum pier, where fuel bound for west central Florida is offloaded.
Already one of west central Florida’s largest economic engines, the Port of Tampa generates $8 billion a year in total economic activity and supports 100,000 jobs in the region, according to a 2006 study commissioned by the port authority.

Port Manatee also hopes to ramp up its fledgling container cargo business, with a new berth opening in 2010 and plans for a 52-acre container yard.

Meanwhile, Governor Crist’s support for the Port Dolphin offshore liquid natural gas terminal and pipeline to Port Manatee could mean an estimated economic impact of $125 million for Manatee County and Port Manatee over the next 20 years.

While the economic benefits to the region are substantial, protecting the natural resources and environmental quality of Tampa Bay as these projects move forward is equally important. Business leaders tend to focus on the bottom line, and in challenging economic times like these, it’s easier to overlook environmental impacts associated with development.

Writing these stories clearly highlights the need for more in-depth data on the economic value of Tampa Bay’s natural resources. The ports and the businesses they support can count the benefits they bring to the table in terms of economic impact, jobs and tax revenues. It’s much more difficult to identify the value of an acre of seagrass or a mile of mangrove, although they undoubtedly benefit the region.

“We need real numbers not rough estimates,” says Luiz Barbieri, head of marine fisheries research at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. “Florida is the largest recreational fishery in the world and the numbers are huge even though they’re not based on true field data.”

FWRI is working to develop a more in-depth method of collecting that data, but some questions still remain about how the research will actually be accomplished. Tampa Bay is also one of four pilot projects selected by the US Environmental Protection Agency for intense research into the value of the region’s natural resources to quantify their economic and ecological benefits.

The goal of that project is to hang a clear number on the value of a mangrove, seagrass or wetland to complement the traditional economic indicators businesses use. Voters clearly recognize the value of natural resources, even without watertight numbers, as they consistently approve programs that purchase environmentally sensitive lands.

In many instances, businesses already recognize the value of natural resources and work closely with bay managers to protect the environment, and the ports have been important partners in this effort. However, bay managers are at a distinct disadvantage if they can’t easily place a monetary value on a natural resource when a business can count jobs and tax revenues.

Working together, businesses and bay managers can make Tampa Bay an economic powerhouse by vigorously protecting both its financial and environmental assets.

— The Editors