An inter and intra-regional exploration of the marine sector employment and deprivation in England

There is an assumption that marine activities, particularly seafood-based activities, are an important source of employment and income in poor coastal areas. Linking the 2010 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) for England with the 2010 Business Structure Dataset (BSD), this paper examines whether employment in the marine sector is concentrated in areas of high deprivation as is assumed. Merging the IMD 2010 with the BSD allows us to examine rates of marine-based employment and their location both across (inter) and within (intra) regions. This analysis provides the first empirical evidence that employment in the marine sector, particularly fishing and seafood processing, are located in areas with higher than average deprivation, even if the overall regional rate of deprivation is relatively low (the South East and the South West of England). Methodologically, this analysis indicates that an index such as the IMD based on a wide range of social and economic data can be used to understand the socioeconomic impacts of a sector within an area. Whilst most importantly this paper further demonstrates that intra-regional analysis is more insightful in exploring the geographical socioeconomic impact of the marine sector than inter-regional level analysis. With regard to the academic contribution, this paper also aims to conceptualise marine activity as a core economic activity located both in peripheral and non-peripheral areas.