Gulf Blue Initiative celebrates one-year anniversary

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Oceanic leaders celebrated positive progress in Gulfport for the one-year anniversary of the Coast’s Gulf Blue Initiative.

University of Southern Mississippi’s Vice President of Research Kelly Lucas said Gulf Blue jumps on the opportunity to expand the oceanic economy.

“Ocean economy is continuing to grow, and it’s going to grow by, like, 30 more trillion in the next couple of years,” Lucas said. “We want a piece of that.”

Experts said the Mississippi Gulf Coast is the final piece of the aquatic puzzle.

The Coast’s waters provide an opportunity for companies to test for uncured systems, data, analytics, and aqua culture. Gulf Blue’s Business Development Coordinator Natalie Guess said testing helps promote new technologies for the oceanic economy.

“A lot of people didn’t realize that we have all of these assets across the Coast to offer them for technology,” Guess said. “We’re right here in the Gulf of Mexico. They can launch anytime they want, get right into the water. There’s different levels of water, so the depths are different.”

Experts said the Coast’s access to the Gulf of Mexico makes it a hotspot for local businesses to partner with Gulf Blue as well as companies across the country.

“When you quit beating your drum and other people are beating it for you, when people in Boston are saying you need to go to Mississippi to go test your product, that’s impressive,” Lucas said.

“Everybody that we’ve talked to that’s come to visit are blown away by our hospitality and our tech that we’re able to provide,” Guess said.

Gulf Blue partnered with 45 different companies from out of state, exceeding its goal of 30.

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