CHATHAM – A new study from the Cape Cod Commission and the Urban Harbors Institute has revealed the economic impacts that the Cape’s harbors have on the region.
The study, conducted in March and April, focused on six harbors: Provincetown Harbor, Sesuit Harbor in Dennis, Stage Harbor and Aunt Lydia’s Cove in Chatham, as well as Great Harbor and Inner Harbor in Falmouth.
The survey focused on the businesses located along the coast or otherwise reliant on access to the harbors.
Survey respondents said that they directly employed 2,328 people across 58 industries, with a total employment of 4,446 people due to indirect impacts of business and household spending, said the Commission.
They also said that the direct compensation of employees in the top ten industries identified was nearly $257 million, when just using the survey responses alone.
The Cape Cod Commission said that maintaining or enhancing harbor functionality should be a priority for coastal communities in order to improve economic benefits including employment numbers.
The Commission also said that communities should include plans for long-term functionality as sea level rises and coastal flooding increases due to climate change in their capital planning efforts if they want to preserve the harbor facilities.
The final report of the survey results are available here.
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