Abstract Regional economic assessments (REAs), including economic contribution and impact analyses, are often used in resource-based industries to inform policymakers, elected officials, and the general public of an industry’s role within the regional economy. However, REAs have been difficult to conduct for the aquaculture industry due to issues with data availability and quality. This paper will provide an overview of economic contribution analysis, the challenges associated with applying these analyses to U.S. aquaculture production, and techniques to overcome these challenges. The Florida shellfish aquaculture industry is used as an example to highlight some of the data issues and how using different methods within a REA can lead to inaccurate representations of an industry’s economic contribution.

中文翻译：

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评估美国水产养殖的区域经济贡献：佛罗里达贝类水产养殖业的案例研究

摘要 包括经济贡献和影响分析在内的区域经济评估 (REA) 通常用于资源型行业，以告知政策制定者、民选官员和公众该行业在区域经济中的作用。然而，由于数据可用性和质量问题，难以对水产养殖业进行 REA。本文将概述经济贡献分析、将这些分析应用于美国水产养殖生产的相关挑战以及克服这些挑战的技术。以佛罗里达贝类水产养殖业为例，强调了一些数据问题，以及在 REA 中使用不同方法如何导致行业经济贡献的表述不准确。