tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/solutions-for-the-blue-economy-19258/articlesSolutions for the Blue Economy – The Conversation2021-03-26T12:24:08Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1519042021-03-26T12:24:08Z2021-03-26T12:24:08ZFarming fish in fresh water is more affordable and sustainable than in the ocean<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391754/original/file-20210325-15-bts8vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C5503%2C3650&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jeremiah Kiarie rounds up tilapia at Green Algae Highland fish farm in central Kenya on April 29, 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jeremiah-son-of-fish-farmer-william-kiarie-rounds-up-news-photo/696599724">Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A tidal wave of interest is building in farming the seas. It’s part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/blue-economy-how-a-handful-of-companies-reap-most-of-the-benefits-in-multi-billion-ocean-industries-153165">global rush</a> to exploit oceanic resources that’s been dubbed the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/blue-acceleration-our-dash-for-ocean-resources-mirrors-what-weve-already-done-to-the-land-130264">blue acceleration</a>.” </p>
<p>Optimistic projections say that smart mariculture – fish farming at sea – could <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2616-y">increase ocean fish and shellfish production</a> by 21 million to 44 million metric tons by 2050, a 36%-74% jump from current yields. Other estimates suggest that an ocean aquaculture area <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-tiny-portion-of-the-worlds-oceans-could-help-meet-global-seafood-demand-82680">the size of Lake Michigan</a> might produce the same amount of seafood as all of the world’s wild-caught fisheries combined. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>This story is part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/oceans-21-96784">Oceans 21</a></em></strong>
<br><em>Our series on the global ocean opened with <a href="https://oceans21.netlify.app/">five in depth profiles</a>. Look out for new articles on the state of our oceans in the lead up to the UN’s next climate conference, COP26. The series is brought to you by The Conversation’s international network.</em></p>
<p>Our work as interdisciplinary researchers studying <a href="https://worldfishcenter.org/strategy-2030/">aquatic</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gs3YPlEAAAAJ&hl=en">food</a> <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wenbo-Zhang-18">systems</a> shows that these claims <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19679-9">exaggerate mariculture’s true potential</a>, and that increasing mariculture in a sustainable way is fraught with challenges. </p>
<p>We see <a href="https://theconversation.com/let-them-eat-carp-fish-farms-are-helping-to-fight-hunger-90421">freshwater fish farms</a> as a better way to help fight hunger and bolster food security. In our view, governments, funders and scientists should focus on improving aquaculture on land to help meet the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">United Nation Sustainable Development Goals</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">In recent years Bangladesh has become a leader in low-cost, sustainable aquaculture.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Questionable assumptions</h2>
<p>Ocean aquaculture advocates often cite limited supplies of wild-caught fish and call for <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/how-aquaculture-can-feed-the-world-and-save-the-planet-at-the-same-time">cultivating them to feed the world</a>. As they see it, aquaculture on land is limited by scarce land and freshwater resources, while the oceans offer vast areas suitable for farming. </p>
<p>Framed this way, mariculture seems to offer boundless potential to meet future demand for seafood and feed vulnerable populations with <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/how-to-build-a-bluer-ocean-economy-after-cobid-19/">little environmental impact</a>. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19679-9">our research</a> paints a different picture. We see far fewer technical, economic and resource constraints for freshwater aquaculture than for ocean farming, and far greater potential for land-based fish farms to contribute to global food security.</p>
<p>Freshwater aquaculture has grown steadily over the past three decades. Asia is at the center of this boom, accounting for <a href="http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca9229en">89% of world aquaculture production</a>, excluding plants. </p>
<p>The most important species groups – carp, tilapia and catfish – are herbivorous or omnivorous, so they don’t need to eat animal protein to thrive. While they may be fed small amounts of fish to speed growth, their mainstay diet consists of inexpensive byproducts of crops like rice, groundnut and soy, as well as natural plankton.</p>
<p>It’s relatively cheap and easy to grow freshwater fish in small earthen ponds. Aquaculture has been an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2018.08.077">economic boon</a>, especially in Asia, providing jobs and income for vast numbers of family farms, workers and small businesses. Farmed freshwater fish tend to be an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2017.10.005">affordable staple food</a> for millions of low- and middle-income consumers – and many better-off ones, too. </p>
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<h2>Raising marine fish</h2>
<p>Raising marine fish is a different proposition. The harsh ocean environment makes production risky, and the biology of these species makes many of them difficult and costly to breed and grow. </p>
<p>Most marine aquaculture species are carnivores, so they need other fish as part of their diets. About <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12209">20 million metric tons of fish</a> caught each year is used instead to feed farmed fish. It’s a <a href="https://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-basics/sustainable-solutions/limit-wild-fish-use-as-feed">contentious environmental and ethical issue</a>, as some of these fish could otherwise be food for humans.</p>
<p>Improvements in technology have reduced, though not eliminated, the amount of fish used in feeds, especially for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10641262.2011.597890">farmed salmon</a>. It now takes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqrep.2019.100216">half as much fresh fish</a> to raise salmon as it did 20 years ago. </p>
<p>These innovations were achieved through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13657305.2019.1632391">massive investments</a> by the Norwegian government and the industry, dating back to the 1970s. Research focused on genetic improvement, nutrition and production systems, and it’s paid off. Farmed salmon now accounts for <a href="http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/global-production/en">45% of all fish farmed from the sea</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391609/original/file-20210325-17-1r67r2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Floating salmon pens off Canadian coast." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391609/original/file-20210325-17-1r67r2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391609/original/file-20210325-17-1r67r2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391609/original/file-20210325-17-1r67r2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391609/original/file-20210325-17-1r67r2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391609/original/file-20210325-17-1r67r2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391609/original/file-20210325-17-1r67r2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391609/original/file-20210325-17-1r67r2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Grieg Seafood operates a salmon farm in Clio Channel, Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, Canada, in partnership with the Tlowitsis First Nation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/2jnT5gB">David Stanley/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>However, it’s unlikely that other less popular fish, like grouper, sea bass or cobia, will be as thoroughly researched or farmed with the same efficiency. The market is too small. </p>
<p>For a land-based analogy, think of chickens. Like salmon, they have long been the focus of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.180325">intensive research and development</a>. As a result, they now grow to market size in just 45 days. On the other hand, the guinea fowl – a chickenlike bird raised for specialty markets – has undergone limited selective breeding, develops slowly and yields far less meat, making it more costly to raise and more expensive to buy. </p>
<h2>Farming the open ocean</h2>
<p>Marine fish farming is currently done in sheltered bays and sea lochs. But there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1808737115">growing interest</a> in a new high-tech method that raises fish in huge submersible cages anchored far from land in the open ocean. It’s risky business, with high operating costs. Expensive infrastructure is vulnerable to intense storms. </p>
<p>To be successful, offshore farms will need to grow high-priced fish such as bluefin tuna. And they will need to operate at industrial scale, like SalMar’s massive “Ocean Farm” in Norway, which has capacity for <a href="https://salmonbusiness.com/salmars-gigantic-ocean-farm-gears-up-for-harvest/">1.5 million fish</a>.</p>
<p>While open-ocean mariculture may be technically feasible, its economic viability is questionable. Pilot projects in Norway, <a href="https://www.marinelink.com/news/aquaculture-inside-de-maas-offshore-fish-483165">China</a> and the <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/can-deepwater-aquaculture-avoid-the-pitfalls-of-coastal-fish-farms">U.S.</a> are not yet commercially successful. And though there is strong global demand for salmon, other species like grouper have small niche markets. They are likely to remain specialized high-end products because of steep production costs. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391758/original/file-20210325-19-1enkjzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Boats move a 100-foot-tall circular pen through ocean waters." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391758/original/file-20210325-19-1enkjzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391758/original/file-20210325-19-1enkjzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391758/original/file-20210325-19-1enkjzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391758/original/file-20210325-19-1enkjzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391758/original/file-20210325-19-1enkjzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391758/original/file-20210325-19-1enkjzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391758/original/file-20210325-19-1enkjzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A tugboat tows an offshore ocean farming facility in Qingdao, China, on June 14, 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-offshore-ocean-farming-facility-ocean-farm-1-is-towed-by-news-photo/696148000">Visual China Group via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Freshwater alternatives</h2>
<p>Human population is growing fastest in <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/publications/world-population-prospects-2019-highlights.html">Africa</a>, and incomes are rising most rapidly in <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/12/asia-economic-growth/">Asia</a>. Most additional future demand for fish will come from low- and middle-income consumers in these regions. Farming tilapia and catfish is already becoming more popular in Egypt and both West and East Africa. </p>
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<p>Meanwhile, total seafood consumption in high-income countries <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf">has plateaued</a> since 2000. But even in these countries, demand for farmed freshwater fish is growing because it’s an affordable source of protein. In the U.S., tilapia, <a href="https://www.seafoodhealthfacts.org/description-top-commercial-seafood-items/pangasius">pangasius</a> (freshwater catfish) and channel catfish are the fourth-, sixth- and eighth-most-<a href="https://aboutseafood.com/about/top-ten-list-for-seafood-consumption/">consumed</a> seafood items.</p>
<p>Offshore mariculture might one day produce luxury fish that generate profits for a few large investors. But we believe freshwater aquaculture will continue to feed far more people and benefit many more farmers and small businesses. </p>
<p>Investments in selective breeding, disease control and farm management through public-private partnerships can create a more sustainable aquaculture industry, reducing the amount of land, freshwater and feed used to grow fish while increasing productivity. For more inclusive and sustainable development, we believe governments and funders should prioritize raising fish on land.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151904/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Belton shares a joint appointment with WorldFish as Global Lead for Social and Economic Inclusion</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dave Little receives funding from, and works on a voluntary basis for, various organisations supporting knowledge development and promotion of aquaculture. He has interests in a commercial tilapia company.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wenbo Zhang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Aquaculture is a growing source of healthy protein for millions of people around the world, but there are big differences between farming fish on land and at sea.Ben Belton, Associate Professor of International Development, Michigan State UniversityDave Little, Professor of Aquatic Resources Development, University of StirlingWenbo Zhang, Lecturer in Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/776852017-09-03T09:42:01Z2017-09-03T09:42:01ZAfrican states don’t prioritise maritime security – here’s why they should<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176750/original/file-20170704-808-mna83z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Port workers secure berthing ropes belonging to a container ship as it prepares to dock at the port of San Pedro, Ivory Coast</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luc Gnago/Reuters </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Piracy off the African coastline has been a headline grabbing phenomenon for more than a decade. For a few years though, Somali pirates appeared to have a quiet spell. Then, recently they had their first <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/16/somali-pirates-release-oil-tanker-and-crew-after-first-hijack-for-five-years">successful attack</a> against a merchant vessel since 2012. </p>
<p><a href="http://thediplomat.com/2017/04/as-somali-pirates-return-chinese-navy-boasts-of-anti-piracy-operations/">Other attacks followed</a>, including one in April that was foiled by Chinese and Indian navies. </p>
<p>On the other side of the continent, attacks against ships in the Gulf of Guinea remain a concern for shipping companies, particularly off the coast of Nigeria. </p>
<p>The State of Maritime Piracy <a href="http://obp.ngo/reports/sop">report</a> reiterates that the Nigerian coastline is a dangerous area for seafarers and has been for years.</p>
<p>However, coastal states affected by piracy often have other priorities. Take Somalia for example. The country is battling <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/london-somalia-conference-2017">many issues</a> including the effects of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/20/weve-never-seen-this-drought-this-disease-famine-looms-in-somalia">long drought</a> and <a href="https://www.cfr.org/interactives/global-conflict-tracker#!/conflict/al-shabab-in-somalia">frequent Al-Shabaab attacks</a>.</p>
<p>The situation is similar in other countries. The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies points out that national security and economic policies <a href="http://africacenter.org/spotlight/maritime-safety-security-crucial-africas-strategic-future/">rarely emphasise</a> maritime security. This is due to a lack of awareness, political will and resources. </p>
<p>For years maritime security has been neglected throughout Africa. Recently however, there has been renewed focus on maritime issues. This was highlighted by the African Union’s <a href="https://www.au.int/en/documents/30928/2050-aim-strategy">maritime strategy</a> and the Lomé <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/fulfilling-the-promise-of-the-lome-maritime-summit">maritime summit</a>. </p>
<p>These developments show that maritime matters have become more important. But this is still not enough. To develop their <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/beyond-piracy-what-next-for-african-maritime-security">blue economy</a> coastal states need to start addressing maritime security issues beyond just piracy. </p>
<p>It should also include factors such as <a href="https://www.odi.org/publications/10459-western-africas-missing-fish-impacts-illegal-unreported-and-unregulated-fishing-and-under-reporting">illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing</a>. Unfortunately politicians and academics have traditionally framed maritime security in Africa as a purely <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/09/23/the-world-beat-somali-pirates-why-cant-it-stop-west-african-piracy/">counter-piracy affair</a>. The debate needs to be broadened significantly to include an appreciation of the economic potential of the seas. </p>
<h2>How to secure the oceans</h2>
<p>Sea based economic activities (known as the blue economy) include; <a href="https://www.pwc.co.za/en/assets/pdf/oil-and-gas-review-2016.pdf">offshore oil and gas production</a>, <a href="http://shipsandports.com.ng/maritime-trade-facilitation-economic-development-africa/">maritime trade</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/illegal-fishing-is-a-major-threat-to-africas-blue-economy-61176">fishing activities</a> and <a href="http://www2.unwto.org/agora/tourism-development-coastal-areas-africa-promoting-sustainability-through-governance-and-manag">coastal tourism</a>.</p>
<p>While these activities happen at sea, solutions to improve maritime security must be developed by national governments first. It is not enough to relegate security to navies and coastguards. Governments must first determine where patrols are needed. </p>
<p>In theory, they can do this using comprehensive surveillance techniques to gather intelligence on all activities within their exclusive economic zones. However, many governments in the developing world lack the sufficient <a href="https://www.uneca.org/es-blog/maritime-safety-security-and-development-africa">technical capabilities</a> to do so.</p>
<p>However, if Africa’s coastal states are really committed to developing their blue economies they will also need to employ a wide-reaching <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03071847.2013.774639">maritime strategy</a> over and beyond basic security. The island nation of <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/seychelles-the-worlds-first-blue-economy-enters-the-investment-spotlight">Seychelles</a> has been particularly active in this area. </p>
<p>Maritime strategies help to identify the resources needed to realise the economic potential at sea. They are also the basis for security cooperation between neighbouring countries. This is because maritime insecurity is often a transnational problem.</p>
<p>National security agencies, the international community and NGOs should collaborate to develop a maritime strategy. At the national level, missing capacities can even be provided by the <a href="http://www.css.ethz.ch/en/services/digital-library/articles/article.html/188441">private sector</a>. To manage this multi-agency approach national governments must ensure that their own priorities are front and centre. </p>
<p>Limiting maritime security to counter-piracy activities will not lead to sustainable solutions. Governments must adopt a more holistic approach to securing the oceans. </p>
<p>It does not make sense to focus on pirate attacks while ignoring other <a href="https://qz.com/978203/illegal-fishing-costs-west-africa-2-3-billion-annually-and-collaboration-between-governments-is-the-only-way-to-stop-it/">criminal activities at sea</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77685/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dirk Siebels does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Traditionally maritime security has been defined through the narrow lens of piracy. But as the blue economy grows, African states need to embrace a broader strategy.Dirk Siebels, PhD Candidate (Maritime Security), University of GreenwichLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/459532015-08-20T20:25:19Z2015-08-20T20:25:19ZIf we want to keep eating tuna, the world needs to learn how to share<p><em>Amid growing demand for seafood, gas and other resources drawn from the world’s oceans, and growing stresses from climate change, we examine some of the challenges and solutions for developing “<a href="https://theconversation.com/marine-science-challenges-for-a-growing-blue-economy-22845">the blue economy</a>” in smarter, more sustainable ways.</em></p>
<p>Fishing for tuna, swordfish, jack mackerel, Patagonian toothfish and many other species happens far out at sea, with fisheries often crossing multiple international boundaries.</p>
<p>It’s a huge global industry, which provides billions of dollars a year in direct and indirect benefits to developed and developing countries, and which supplies the world’s food markets. However, overfishing and weak management are serious threats, estimated to cost the world up to <a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTARD/Resources/336681-1224775570533/SunkenBillionsFinal.pdf">US$50 billion a year</a> in lost benefits.</p>
<p>If we don’t learn to better manage transnational fisheries, we risk the long-term viability of key fisheries, as extraordinary global marine biodiversity is reduced to a shadow of its former health.</p>
<p>Whether you care about being better custodians of the Earth’s oceans, or simply want to be sure that we’ll have plenty of good fish in the sea to catch and eat for generations to come, it’s a huge global challenge. </p>
<p>Fortunately, there are new solutions we should be considering – including lessons from a tuna hotspot in the Pacific.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92507/original/image-20150820-32462-l2r6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92507/original/image-20150820-32462-l2r6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92507/original/image-20150820-32462-l2r6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92507/original/image-20150820-32462-l2r6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92507/original/image-20150820-32462-l2r6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92507/original/image-20150820-32462-l2r6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92507/original/image-20150820-32462-l2r6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92507/original/image-20150820-32462-l2r6q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fresh fish for sale in the Solomon Islands – one of the Pacific nations trialling more sustainable tuna fishing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Quentin Hanich</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What we’re doing now is making things worse</h2>
<p>Australia and other concerned nations have long warned that <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCMQFjABahUKEwi7zNTUlLHHAhVkYqYKHXkGAvY&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oecd.org%2Fsd-roundtable%2Fpapersandpublications%2F39375316.pdf&ei=jl_SVbvNIuTEmQX5jIiwDw&usg=AFQjCNG8ID5lQuk_bJMxopLK1ytc_5RIqw&bvm=bv.99804247,d.dGY">current levels of fishing are unsustainable</a> and “leading inexorably to an impending crisis for global marine fisheries.”</p>
<p>Strong international action is required to strengthen fisheries management across multiple boundaries, reduce catches to sustainable levels, and optimise benefits to meet development goals.</p>
<p>But traditional management approaches can be politically contentious, especially because they often require consensus from numerous countries with conflicting interests. </p>
<p>It’s difficult to get multiple countries to agree on restrictions on fishing activities, or controls on fishing methods, or limits to access to fishing grounds or seasons – especially when that may not seem in their short-term national interest. That can be a particular concern for developing states that depend significantly on fisheries, with few other development and resource options.</p>
<p>Existing negotiation and treaty processes fail to successfully resolve the political aspects of conservation negotiations, and consequently, countries often prove unwilling to compromise. </p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780813820262.ch2/summary">Some argue</a> that some form of property or use right must be distributed among participants to deal with overfishing, so that industry and others have the <a href="http://www.trafficj.org/publication/06_conservation_implications.pdf">right incentives</a> to fish in ways that ensure long-term sustainability and economic viability.</p>
<p>However, applying rights-based management approaches to international fisheries requires first that everyone involved agrees on national allocations before those fishing rights trickle down to those actually catching the fish. Determining such rights through an explicit allocation process is highly fraught and take years of effort, particularly as allocation decisions generally require consensus.</p>
<p>While the negotiations drag on, overfishing continues – and can be exacerbated in a race-to-fish to support arguments for more generous allocations.</p>
<p>In order to build political support, new benefits are required that balance conservation costs. Conservation proponents point to long-term benefits from conservation reductions, but these are often too distant to motivate narrowly focused governments facing short-term electoral cycles.</p>
<p>Rights-based management proponents will argue incentives and higher economic efficiency, but fail to provide a political pathway to distribute these benefits between States with diverse interests.</p>
<p>Solutions for the trans-boundary open ocean require sustainability, value and certainty – not politics.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92508/original/image-20150820-32462-vrohtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92508/original/image-20150820-32462-vrohtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92508/original/image-20150820-32462-vrohtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92508/original/image-20150820-32462-vrohtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92508/original/image-20150820-32462-vrohtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92508/original/image-20150820-32462-vrohtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92508/original/image-20150820-32462-vrohtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92508/original/image-20150820-32462-vrohtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unloading fish in the Pacific.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Quentin Hanich</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pacific nations show the value of scarcity</h2>
<p>New markets are required that introduce scarcity values into conservation and turn limits into benefits. International negotiations need to move beyond traditional approaches and adopt innovative measures that create new markets.</p>
<p>A small group of Pacific Island nations are attempting just that, trialling different approaches to managing a crucial part of the world’s tuna supplies.</p>
<p>The Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu are all <a href="http://www.pnatuna.com/HomePage">Parties to the Nauru Agreement</a> (PNA), working together to make fishing for tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (shown in the map below) more sustainable. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92506/original/image-20150820-32454-13b098d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92506/original/image-20150820-32454-13b098d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92506/original/image-20150820-32454-13b098d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92506/original/image-20150820-32454-13b098d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92506/original/image-20150820-32454-13b098d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92506/original/image-20150820-32454-13b098d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92506/original/image-20150820-32454-13b098d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92506/original/image-20150820-32454-13b098d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Pacific Ocean, crowded with maritime jurisdictional claims.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Q. Hanich & M. Tsamenyi (eds) Navigating Pacific Fisheries: Legal and Policy Trends in the Implementation of International Fisheries Instruments in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. University of Wollongong. Wollongong, Australia. 2009.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Western and Central Pacific Ocean is home to the world’s most productive tuna fisheries, supplying global markets with skipjack, yellowfin, bigeye, and albacore tunas. These were collectively worth approximately US$5.8 billion in 2014 and accounted for 60% of the global tuna catch.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, like many other global fisheries, overfishing is occurring and a political stalemate is undermining conservation. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92513/original/image-20150820-32489-wbz3g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92513/original/image-20150820-32489-wbz3g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92513/original/image-20150820-32489-wbz3g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92513/original/image-20150820-32489-wbz3g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92513/original/image-20150820-32489-wbz3g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92513/original/image-20150820-32489-wbz3g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92513/original/image-20150820-32489-wbz3g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92513/original/image-20150820-32489-wbz3g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Quentin Hanich</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pacific Island nations have long been concerned about conservation limits putting a disproportionate burden of conservation action on to small island nations, and unfairly limiting their development aspirations. There was some justification for those concerns. </p>
<p>Previously proposed conservation measures would have directly benefited longstanding distant water fishing fleets, through capacity or catch limits that rewarded historical capacity and catch, while locking out developing nations with no history of overfishing, and potentially no future opportunity. In effect – it would have been the reverse of the polluter pays principle.</p>
<p>The small group of PNA nations control access to the most productive fishing grounds. So they aare a crucial voting bloc within the Western and Central Pacific Fishing Commission – an international treaty based organisation with responsibility over the Western and Central Pacific tuna fisheries.</p>
<p>Given that the PNA member nations arguably own and control access to most of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean tuna fishery, any conservation and management response must be fully supported by these countries and explicitly avoid any disproportionate conservation burden.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nMfrfVc82Uw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>In recent years, the PNA nations have collectively implemented a Vessel Day Scheme that limited access to their productive fisheries and introduced a scarcity value that has dramatically increased benefits. In effect, they have created a new market for ‘fishing days’ and are now trialling auctioning and pooling of days to maximise their benefits.</p>
<p>Next, these countries will need to bring in tighter limits to reduce catches of bigeye tuna to sustainable levels. One of the key impacts on bigeye tuna is the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) that are set at sea by large-scale <a href="http://iss-foundation.org/purse-seine/">purse seiners</a> (seines are also known dragnets) to target skipjack tuna.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92509/original/image-20150820-32485-1dwj489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92509/original/image-20150820-32485-1dwj489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92509/original/image-20150820-32485-1dwj489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92509/original/image-20150820-32485-1dwj489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92509/original/image-20150820-32485-1dwj489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92509/original/image-20150820-32485-1dwj489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92509/original/image-20150820-32485-1dwj489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92509/original/image-20150820-32485-1dwj489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Freshly caught tuna in the Solomon Islands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/theworldfishcenter/19320425646/in/photolist-vrher1-vc8QBX-vc8NiZ-vtWt2p-uj9L1W-5zrpAD-dQwHje-c8ZNd-L77ch-wtSk9-5NPH23-tu1uw1-6pspcN-W8Xms-s2Ezhd-b5f5V-7n8xmu-3iyZ1-cgvi1C-vt4RSh-8gLDhT-b5f65-r5MZDY-3DyZWe-9mY6z3-pdvyTm-fzF7c-bu9aQh-uja7nj-g5x6h-wLqSMY-c8ZN2-c8ZMP-ttKiy-q9cSbR-P8cQk-7VYP7r-985SNE-dSV4no-dQC3qs-6vEKec-bthwgD-9B7yjX-9FAdVQ-6YQhDC-6YQikq-6YLgcZ-6YLgoZ-mdr3E-2gz3v7">Filip Milovac/WorldFish/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While countries involved with distant water fishing have proposed traditional measures that would apply across-the-board restrictions at high cost to the island states, the PNA members have been trialling satellite-based monitoring of FADs at sea. They are also cooperating to begin charging additional fees for the use of FAD sets within their waters, beginning in 2016. </p>
<p>This will create an incentive for purse seiners to set on free swimming schools and reduce FAD sets, and mitigate conservation costs for Pacific island through the additional financial revenue from the licensing fees. </p>
<p>As the scheme settles in, conservation limits can then be implemented to gradually reduce the number of FADs that can be set. This will increase the scarcity value of the FAD set, while decreasing the catch of bigeye tuna to more sustainable levels, and effectively create a new market for ‘FAD sets’.</p>
<p>Innovative management and market solutions will be critical to the sustainable, profitable and equitable future of the global “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-challenge-of-managing-earths-new-economic-frontier-our-oceans-45719">blue economy</a>”. In trans-boundary fisheries, the Pacific is setting the agenda.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45953/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Quentin Hanich has previously worked for a number of Pacific island delegations, institutions and international organisations on Pacific fisheries. </span></em></p>Over-fishing is a massive environmental and economic challenge. Fortunately, there are new solutions being trialled – including in a tuna hotspot in the Pacific.Quentin Hanich, Associate Professor, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/457692015-08-19T22:52:50Z2015-08-19T22:52:50ZDiving for treasure to help protect the world’s great reefs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92240/original/image-20150818-12433-gsg605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Diving in Indonesia's Raja Ampat Marine Park to see these clownfish will cost you more than before – but for good reason.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Boris Bialek/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Amid growing demand for seafood, gas and other resources drawn from the world’s oceans, and growing stresses from climate change, we examine some of the challenges and solutions for developing “<a href="https://theconversation.com/marine-science-challenges-for-a-growing-blue-economy-22845">the blue economy</a>” in smarter, more sustainable ways.</em></p>
<p>Diving the warm, crystal clear waters of Indonesia’s Raja Ampat Marine Park is an experience for the lucky few. Its coral reefs attract a huge variety of marine life, including turtles, manta rays and countless species of tropical fish – including the now iconic <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-you-surf-the-east-australian-current-finding-nemo-style-27392">clownfish</a>. </p>
<p>If you’ve gone diving there recently, or are planning a holiday, you may have noticed that the <a href="http://www.stayrajaampat.com/ultimate-raja-ampat-guide/information/raja-ampat-marine-park-entry-permit-tag/">marine park fees</a> have gone up sharply in past 12 months – as they have in many other parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. </p>
<p>But you might actually be happy to discover why.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92060/original/image-20150817-5124-175quzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92060/original/image-20150817-5124-175quzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92060/original/image-20150817-5124-175quzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92060/original/image-20150817-5124-175quzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92060/original/image-20150817-5124-175quzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92060/original/image-20150817-5124-175quzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92060/original/image-20150817-5124-175quzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92060/original/image-20150817-5124-175quzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fishywang/8089350851/in/photolist-djQ3bp-wYx2P-djtYdD-djtY1x-djPFcM-djPHcV-djPLEY-djtZsj-djQaZs-dju226-djPJFz-djPJ5m-djQbXg-djPJ1F-djPHuF-djPKie-djQc5n-djtZNu-djtYXt-djtZyC-djPLK6-djtYbS-djtY5q-djtYug-djPMCB-djPN9N-9fzrNo-djPH2B-dju1zF-dju19N-djPGFX-djtZ9s-djPG52-djtYEU-djPKCP-djPG3h-djQ4VC-djQ483-djQ4gN-djtXRB-djtY72-djPMbB-djPLcj-djPMyd-djPF3g-djQccg-djPJHG-djPGsb-djQb3F-djQ52R">Yuxuan Wang/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The cost of caring for coral reefs</h2>
<p>The dive industry has long been criticised as contributing to declines in coral reef health around the world. Coral reefs globally are under increasing pressure from the cumulative impacts of fishing, shipping, and coastal development, as well as longer-term impacts due to climate change. And unless it’s managed, increased diving and snorkelling tourism can become just another environmental strain. </p>
<p>That’s not in anyone’s interests. Failure to adequately manage activities within reef areas is likely to lead to their degradation, which will make them less attractive to divers and other tourists in the long-term.</p>
<p>But taking better care of our reefs comes at a cost. It requires monitoring and surveillance, as well as ensuring users (such as divers) and beneficiaries (such as local businesses) of the reefs are aware of their impacts and understand how to avoid them.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92059/original/image-20150817-5103-hgs7oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92059/original/image-20150817-5103-hgs7oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92059/original/image-20150817-5103-hgs7oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92059/original/image-20150817-5103-hgs7oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92059/original/image-20150817-5103-hgs7oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92059/original/image-20150817-5103-hgs7oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92059/original/image-20150817-5103-hgs7oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92059/original/image-20150817-5103-hgs7oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scuba diving off the Thai coast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/39891373@N07/4396008774/in/photolist-7GsGfJ-kfP4kw-9Mo17Z-7oX85r-dfHViW-pxFWA7-4Y2Cdx-6sMHrd-BQ3GG-8ZWtFV-6yG7gN-6FN3b1-4t975p-nsLysS-puZp4q-5jRBPX-2AvaVi-6FN6SA-6FHZvR-ktvPUi-7GiCsg-6FHRRr-5x6nua-t67a7-6cWscJ-5jRB7z-6FNoSS-5jVT2L-5jVSyW-3pJihP-cbtV2S-7GMGr7-6FJoHi-5jVThh-6FHPYB-6FN7HL-9eKkPB-4XTma7-4tapEP-6FJ12e-6FJ2LM-6FMZsd-6FNaXA-6FHNYB-6FMYEA-6FHUbX-6FMUL9-6FNbEU-6FHPgP-6FJ5Y6">Ilse Reijs and Jan-Noud Hutten/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Across Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, dive tourism directly dependent on the health of coral reefs brings in around <a href="https://research.jcu.edu.au/tropwater/publications/Pascoeetal2014Estimatingthepotentialimpactofentryfeesformarineparks.pdf">US$1.5 billion a year</a> to local communities. Most of this is in remote areas, where alternative sources of income are limited.</p>
<p>Those three countries have set up a number of marine parks to protect their reefs. And about 70% of those parks have long had dive fees in place.</p>
<p>But the fees have typically been very low, while government contributions were also relatively constrained – which is why <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569106000263">a 2006 study</a> found that only about one in seven marine reserves in south east Asia had adequate financial resources.</p>
<p>That’s where learning from the Australian experience, together with modelling work from an international team of researchers, has helped provide a practical solution.</p>
<h2>How tourists help pay to preserve the Great Barrier Reef</h2>
<p>The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is one of Australia’s great tourism international drawcards – for divers in particular – injecting an estimated <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/a3ef2e3f-37fc-4c6f-ab1b-3b54ffc3f449/files/gbr-economic-contribution.pdf">AUS$5 billion</a> into the economy and generating around 64,000 full-time equivalent jobs. </p>
<p>But right from the early days of establishing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia had to grapple with how to pay for crucial conservation work.</p>
<p>That’s why divers and other visitors to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park each pay an environmental management charge of AU$6 a day. That contributes around 20% of the AU$40 million annual management costs.</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8489.2011.00548.x/full">Modelling</a> to test what impact this charge has on visitor numbers suggests that it is very small, and the gains in terms of financial resources for management far exceed any potential losses to local businesses – which, after all, also depend on the reef for their continued survival.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92225/original/image-20150818-12383-1xjlq13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92225/original/image-20150818-12383-1xjlq13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92225/original/image-20150818-12383-1xjlq13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92225/original/image-20150818-12383-1xjlq13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92225/original/image-20150818-12383-1xjlq13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92225/original/image-20150818-12383-1xjlq13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92225/original/image-20150818-12383-1xjlq13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92225/original/image-20150818-12383-1xjlq13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smile for the camera – diving the Great Barrier Reef.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tangledcontrolpads/721614540/in/photolist-26LsS1-6FSQz7-3zZxbQ-EH77z-32QErn-8vUSvi-bvB1y5-8ScCWb-eVhE3G-dAUnsD-bJvMAg-bJvMup-EH4St-EH6KS-bJvMha-8CnRME-p1i9p-eVhJAh-EH53p-eVhKKG-jGPps-5xfjuU-pGfFyj-fBf3NB-3THpvA-9g5ku4-p1p9CV-5xjnm5-65JL5j-98TVRh-biQJKR-aiP9ph-98QN8X-5xf2ZK-5xf7z8-aiPdjQ-2YyGv-9g5kbK-aiLo74-6zuUni-6zuU2e-6zyZM9-8GGCjR-6iXykY-6iTkTH-4rBZxn-4rG2NL-4rG5Rw-4rBWEV-4rBZu6">Brian Costelloe/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Testing a model solution</h2>
<p>But until a few years ago, the idea of charging higher fees was opposed by many tourism and related businesses in south east Asian diving communities, concerned that it might cause tourist numbers and earnings fall.</p>
<p>In 2013, a group of international researchers supported by the <a href="http://www.apn-gcr.org/">Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research</a> worked with managers, resort owners and dive operators in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to develop options for improved reef management in the region. </p>
<p>This included modelling what might happen if you increased dive fees to pay for reef conservation. <a href="https://research.jcu.edu.au/tropwater/publications/Pascoeetal2014Estimatingthepotentialimpactofentryfeesformarineparks.pdf">That study</a> predicted that even if the conservation fees were more than doubled, it was unlikely to deter many divers, who care about the places they go diving in.</p>
<p>It also predicted that the revenue raised for reef protection would far exceed the loss in tourism expenditure in local communities, and help ensure that the communities as well as the reefs would survive into the future.</p>
<h2>What higher diving fees are funding</h2>
<p>Since then, as any keen divers reading this might already have seen, user fees in many of their marine parks have been introduced or increased. For example, at the Raja Ampat Marine Park in Indonesia, fees for foreign visitors have doubled in 2015 to 1,000,000 Indonesian Rupiah (about AU$100) for an annual permit.</p>
<p>More modest fee increases (and fee levels) have also been seen in most Thai and Malaysian marine parks this year, with most now charging international visitors between AU$10 and AU$20 a day for access.</p>
<p>So what are you paying for? Among other things, divers are helping by paying more for rangers’ wages and for patrols to keep out illegal fishing, mining and poachers, as well as conservation and reef rehabilitation projects in the parks.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92239/original/image-20150818-12454-eisgoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92239/original/image-20150818-12454-eisgoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92239/original/image-20150818-12454-eisgoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92239/original/image-20150818-12454-eisgoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92239/original/image-20150818-12454-eisgoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92239/original/image-20150818-12454-eisgoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92239/original/image-20150818-12454-eisgoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92239/original/image-20150818-12454-eisgoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A turtle emerges from a hidey-hole in a coral off Indonesia’s coast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bbialek905/16401330827/in/album-72157648404315244/">Boris Bialek/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But when you consider how much it costs to go on a diving holiday, being asked to pay the equivalent of a light meal is not too much to ask. Indeed, from the modelling study, most visitors gain substantially much more than this in terms of benefits from diving on these coral reefs, and could potentially contribute greater amounts to protect them for future generations. </p>
<p>By digging a little deeper, divers can do more than just go on holiday: they can contribute to longer-term conservation of some of the most extraordinary places on Earth.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45769/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Pascoe receives funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and the Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research. He was part of the international research team who did the 2013 study.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalie Stoeckl receives funding from the (Australian) National Environmental Research Program, the (Australian) National Environmental Science Program, The Australian Marine Mammal Centre and the Australian Marine Conservation Society. She is on the Reef 2050 Plan Independent Expert Panel. This article reflects her personal views, not those of the panel.</span></em></p>Diving in many parts of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia now costs a little more than it used to – but you might be happy to discover why.Sean Pascoe, Fisheries Economist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIRONatalie Stoeckl, Professor, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/457192015-08-18T20:33:32Z2015-08-18T20:33:32ZThe challenge of managing Earth’s new economic frontier: our oceans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92035/original/image-20150817-5114-1pd61o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Expect to see more ships on the horizon, as global shipping booms. But how well are we measuring and governing what happens at sea?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/72562013@N06/9373770625/in/photolist-fhk2qV-fhk21V-fhzhBh-fi1RkW-fi1Bm1-7Syrfy-4AD9NA-fSbTeX-nefoQB-vPrc2j-2JkLqF-fSbEMS-fhzgkG-qQyfHa-vNuYRW-kb7iFa-fi1C2y-fSbu6y-iv6V4t-r7TW21-pAxGWn-6VDbAj-frYmVX-97WYGV-fSbyyG-wUzae8-wLsgZp-wK6EMy-6MRkgd-e4XLjs-dGftAZ-c1amqf-gKrFKi-7TkEBo-58tWa-DVbqh-ofdYcB-odtHS1-kb6wwK-e4VWRu-kb9a9Y-7cVzuD-dbR9jT-dGkKHy-awbN9-qXKu4p-dGfvU6-dGkVjA-7cVzr4-5J3sZP">Chris Phutully/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Amid growing demand for seafood, gas and other resources drawn from the world’s oceans, and growing stresses from climate change, we examine some of the challenges and solutions for developing “<a href="https://theconversation.com/marine-science-challenges-for-a-growing-blue-economy-22845">the blue economy</a>” in smarter, more sustainable ways.</em></p>
<p>As the world’s land-based economies struggle with annual rates of <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG/countries?display=graph">around 2% growth</a> in Gross Domestic Product, the global marine economy – now increasingly being talked about as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/marine-science-challenges-for-a-growing-blue-economy-22845">the blue economy</a>” – is a bright light on the horizon.</p>
<p>New developments in marine industries range from diversification in aquaculture to the new technologies of marine bio-technology and pharmaceuticals, marine renewable energy such as wind and wave power, and deep sea mining. </p>
<p>The European Commission has a <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy/blue_growth/">“blue growth” strategy</a>, recognising that those marine industries are growing at a faster rate than those on Europe’s land mass. And in areas such as south east Asia, the oceans contribute directly to the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people. </p>
<p>In Australia, a <a href="http://www.aims.gov.au/docs/media/latest-news/-/asset_publisher/EnA5gMcJvXjd/content/11-august-a-vision-in-blue-ten-year-plan-for-science-helping-drive-australia-s-growing-blue-economy">new national report</a> forecasts marine industries’ contribution to Australia’s Gross Domestic Product will grow three times faster in the next decade than the rest of the economy – doubling from A$47.2 billion a year to about A$100 billion in 2025.</p>
<p>As researchers from <a href="http://www.economistinsights.com/sustainability-resources/analysis/blue-economy">The Economist Intelligence Unit</a> recently concluded:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As a setting for global trade and commerce, and as a significant source of food and energy, the ocean’s contribution is already important. This century, it is likely to become an economic force.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But those researchers also noted many <a href="http://www.economistinsights.com/sites/default/files/Blue%20Economy_briefing%20paper_WOS2015.pdf">challenges</a> ahead, including “how to create predictable cash flows for investors behind the valuable ecosystem services offered by the ocean”.</p>
<p>The consensus is that going from the ocean economy to the emerging blue economy will take time. But there are still major questions about the blue economy we need to answer – including how to define, measure and govern it, especially when so much of the world’s ocean lies beyond national borders. </p>
<h2>‘The blue economy’ still isn’t clearly defined</h2>
<p>If you Google the term “the blue economy”, the first search result you’re likely to see is not about oceans at all; instead, it will takes you to <a href="http://www.theblueeconomy.org/Home.html">Gunter Pauli’s work on ecological innovation</a>, with no sea on the horizon.</p>
<p>But among the marine community and increasingly in <a href="https://innovationxchange.dfat.gov.au/project/innovating-blue-economy">government</a> and global business circles, there has been a shift from talking about “the ocean economy” to “the blue economy”.</p>
<p>While there is still no broad agreement on what that means, The Economist recently adopted this working definition:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A sustainable ocean economy emerges when economic activity is in balance with the long-term capacity of ocean ecosystems to support this activity and remain resilient and healthy.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Economic growth is not enough; we also need to do a better job of sustainably managing ocean resources.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7NqhVbCtqNk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A snapshot of some of the challenges ahead for the blue economy, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There have been several drivers behind that shift. The past decade has seen the incorporation of green accounting concerns about the sustainable development arising through the United Nations’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/rio-20-take-science-seriously-and-change-the-process-7804">Rio 20+</a> process. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/SSF-Seesion-1-Blue-Economy-Issues-Note.pdf">Small islands</a>, such as Seychelles and Mauritius, have led the way in calling for the use of marine resources and eco-system services to be sustainable. Internationally, new approaches to environmental accounting have been developing.</p>
<p>This need for greener and more sustainable marine activities has also been influenced by climate change. In amongst approaches involving ecosystem values lurks the longstanding need to control the impacts from marine industries, such as overfishing and <a href="https://theconversation.com/whose-job-is-it-to-clear-up-all-the-rubbish-floating-in-the-oceans-25082">pollution</a>. Controlling industry is necessary – and to do so, having a good understanding of the economics matters.</p>
<p>Yet marine economists have been concerned for some time that the frameworks for measuring the ocean economy are not in place. </p>
<p>For a start, what are we measuring? Whose job is it to measure it? Who has the vision for the future of the blue economy? How do we get the private sector to invest? And is there a governance framework that will support private investment in ocean or “blue” industries? </p>
<h2>Opportunities and challenges for south east Asia</h2>
<p>Together with economic growth and long-term environmental sustainability, social equity is another crucial consideration – particularly in booming regions such as south east Asia, with so many coastal communities dependent on the ocean.</p>
<p>So where is the blue economy going in this region?</p>
<p>Any country looks at what their comparative advantage may be in benefiting from the sea. For example, Malaysia’s economic strength has been shipping, due to its location beside the Strait of Malacca. </p>
<p>In China there are already an estimated <a href="http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2010/indexeh.htm">32.7 million jobs</a> or more than 4.15% of total national employment in “ocean-related sectors”. Interestingly, The Economist’s recent report refers to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2013.05.008">9 million direct jobs</a> in China’s core “major ocean industries”.</p>
<p>That’s a good illustration of why it’s so important to be clear about what we’re measuring when talking about the blue economy. In this case, the Chinese government’s higher figure factors in additional jobs in support areas (such as the scientific, research, education and ocean management service sectors), ocean-related enterprises (businesses with economic and technical links to marine industries), plus indirect and induced employment.</p>
<p>Seaweed is just one of China’s many marine exports. It supplies <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3720e/i3720e01.pdf">13.5 million tonnes of seaweed</a> a year for gels, hydrocolloids and alginates to the global food industry. </p>
<p>China has a clear comparative advantage in bio-technology, genetic improvement of seaweeds and development of marine pharmaceuticals. But its “blue economy” challenges include reducing coastal pollution so that it can maintain and increase the sustainable value of marine industries. </p>
<h2>Opportunities and challenges for Australia</h2>
<p>What about Australia? Well, with production of 2,000 tonnes of seaweed a year, the world is not depending on exports from us. Yet in several corners of the country (including <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/09/21/4091941.htm">South Australia</a> and <a href="http://smah.uow.edu.au/smfc/UOW106517.html">Wollongong</a>, a few seaweed experimental enterprises are developing niche opportunities.</p>
<p>However, there are much bigger industries at work along our coastline. For instance, earlier this year the Reserve Bank of Australia said that <a href="http://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2015/mar/pdf/bu-0315-4.pdf">liquified natural gas</a> was expected to become Australia’s second largest commodity export (after iron ore) by 2018. It’s also been predicted that port visits by ships to Australia will <a href="https://bitre.gov.au/publications/2010/stats_008.aspx">double by 2030</a>. </p>
<p>Tourism is another good example of the opportunities – and challenges – that lie ahead.</p>
<p>Speaking to a Chinese delegate at a recent blue economy workshop, I mentioned a luxury resort being built by a Chinese entrepreneur on Australia’s Gold Coast, which is expected to bring in <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/china-property-giant-wanda-to-fly-in-tourists-and-potential-buyers-to-queenslands-glitter-strip/story-fnihsps3-1227453100506">30,000 Chinese tourists</a> a year.</p>
<p>As a lady well across her national statistics, the delegate replied, “Actually, last year we only had 1.2 million people going abroad … not that many when you consider our population” (1.3 billion).</p>
<p>But does Australia have a framework to support such rapidly increasing use of our national biodiversity? Or are we just “the lucky country”, with offshore gas for exports and beaches to attract tourists? Can we be more than a quarry and holiday destination for the world?</p>
<p>Like so much about the blue economy, those are questions we’re yet to clearly answer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45719/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alistair McIlgorm works for the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong. He has been Director of Dominion Consulting Pty Ltd since 1997. He has recently received funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, the Department of Industry NSW (Fisheries), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. He has been invited to speak on the Blue Economy and review studies by the Chinese Government State Oceans Administration, the Indian Government Ministry of External Affairs and Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), Manila, Philippines. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics, Monterey, US.</span></em></p>As the world’s land-based economies struggle with around 2% GDP growth, the global marine economy – often talked about as “the blue economy” – is a bright light on the horizon.Alistair McIlgorm, Professor of Marine Economics, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/228452014-05-20T04:24:38Z2014-05-20T04:24:38ZMarine science: challenges for a growing ‘blue economy’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47799/original/yyv657hn-1399268612.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We need to play our cards right if Australia's marine environments are to keep us afloat.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/saspotato/4449775623">Saspotato/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>AUSTRALIA 2025: How will science address the challenges of the future? In collaboration with Australia’s chief scientist <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-chubb-5153/profile_bio">Ian Chubb</a>, we’re asking how each science discipline will contribute to Australia now and in the future. Written by luminaries and accompanied by two expert commentaries to ensure a broader perspective, these articles run fortnightly and focus on each of the major scientific areas. In this instalment we dive into marine science.</em></p>
<p>Why are our oceans important to us? How is our health, the health of the environment, the strength of our economy and indeed, our future, dependent on the seas? How can marine science help us, collectively, to sustainably develop our marine-based industries and at the same time protect our unique marine ecosystems so that they can be appreciated and enjoyed by future generations? </p>
<p>In many ways, Australia is defined by the oceans that surround us. We have the third largest ocean territory in the world. The majority of our trade travels by sea, vast offshore oil and gas resources earn vital export income and offer a long term, cleaner energy source than coal and our fisheries and aquaculture industries provide healthy food. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47339/original/s93kgbt8-1398825467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47339/original/s93kgbt8-1398825467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47339/original/s93kgbt8-1398825467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47339/original/s93kgbt8-1398825467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47339/original/s93kgbt8-1398825467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47339/original/s93kgbt8-1398825467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47339/original/s93kgbt8-1398825467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47339/original/s93kgbt8-1398825467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Birds eye view of the Great Barrier Reef.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/freckles75/3705615004/in/photolist-6EzAMU-cQZbq5-bARkuF-961cYB-defj4J-bnWmc9-bAR83k-ftzzZY-9uh9sc-bARbgp-avWVGB-fouKFo-djq6CV-djqi4C-djq1fw-fou7Zj-6DsfeS-foux9E-fof1P2-aiLjCc-fouCCG-foug77-fofr7x-fofomp-fouJih-fofmeH-fouwq7-djqpyi-fofiDH-fouqm9-foeWBB-fof2Cp-fougQw-fofdg6-fouzxs-fouGhh-foeY2z-fofuP8-fouGNG-fofhcX-fof3kK-fofnex-foutE5-foffZR-fofvgr-foeXrz-fofsxM-fouhAG-fouufS-fofnUR">Su Fuidge/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We are custodians of two magnificent marine World Heritage Areas – the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef – and we are a nation that loves to sit by, swim, surf, dive, fish and sail in the (mostly) clean waters and healthy marine ecosystems that surround our continent.</p>
<p>Australia’s affinity with our ocean estate is perhaps best exemplified by the fact that <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article32004">85% of our population</a> lives within 50km of the coast.</p>
<p>Marine industries contributed approximately <a href="http://www.aims.gov.au/documents/30301/23122/The+AIMS+Index+of+Marine+Industry+2012.pdf/d0fc7dc9-ae98-4e79-a0b2-271af9b5454f">A$42 billion</a> to our economy in 2010. This is projected to grow to approximately <a href="http://www.aims.gov.au/documents/30301/550211/Marine+Nation+2025_web.pdf/bd99cf13-84ae-4dbd-96ca-f1a330062cdf">A$100 billion by 2025</a> with the expansion of current industries and development of new opportunities in areas such as renewable energy. As a nation we will increasingly be dependent on our “blue economy” for our future prosperity. </p>
<p>In addition to their economic and aesthetic value, our oceans also provide a suite of essential “ecosystem services” – most importantly in their role within the global climate system. Since the end of the 18th century, about 30% percent of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions have been taken up by the oceans while over the past 50 years, they have absorbed about <a href="http://www.oceanscientists.org/index.php/topics/ocean-warming">90% of the extra heat</a> generated through the impacts of the greenhouse effect. </p>
<p>The moderating influence of the oceans as our planet warms, and their very strong influences on our island continent’s weather, impact on every Australian, every day.</p>
<h2>Six grand challenges facing our marine nation</h2>
<p>If Australia, and indeed the world at large, is to continue to enjoy and grow the benefits accrued from our oceans, we need to face up to and meet a number of significant (and in some cases urgent) challenges. </p>
<p>Australia’s marine science community recently collaborated with governments, not-for-profit organisations and the private sector to produce the <a href="http://www.aims.gov.au/documents/30301/550211/Marine+Nation+2025_web.pdf/bd99cf13-84ae-4dbd-96ca-f1a330062cdf">report</a> Marine Nation 2025: Marine Science to Support Australia’s Blue Economy. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2q_uAprM9_s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Marine Nation 2025 video.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Marine Nation 2025 outlined six, interconnected “grand challenges” facing Australia, each of which has a significant marine dimension with gaps in understanding or requirement for tools that can be addressed by marine science:</p>
<ol>
<li> <strong>sovereignty, security, natural hazards</strong>: needs improved operational oceanographic forecasting and increased effort on fine-scale hydrographic data and charts</li>
<li><strong>energy security</strong>: needs support for developing energy resources, particularly liquid natural gas and renewable energy and research to support carbon sequestration</li>
<li><strong>food security</strong>: needs research to support a booming aquaculture industry, as well as data and tools to improve management of wild-catch fisheries</li>
<li><strong>biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health</strong>: needs environmental baselines, effective indicators of ecosystem health to guides national marine environmental monitoring, and tools to predict impacts of development on marine biodiversity</li>
<li><strong>dealing with changing climate</strong>: needs enhanced understanding and skill in prediction of the impacts of sea level rise, increasing sea temperature and ocean acidification and the role of the ocean as a carbon sink</li>
<li><strong>optimal resource allocation</strong>: needs integrated social, economic and environmental information and tools to assist transparent, robust and accountable decision-making. </li>
</ol>
<p>The multidisciplinary nature of marine science, the geographic scale and connectedness of marine systems, and the complexity of the challenges above mean that in the majority of cases no one institution (or in the case of industry, one company) can build the evidence base or tools required to adequately address these challenges, even at local scales. </p>
<p>Thus, a dedicated and coordinated effort across our national marine science community, governments and industry is required. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47807/original/qnyxb9yv-1399271555.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47807/original/qnyxb9yv-1399271555.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47807/original/qnyxb9yv-1399271555.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47807/original/qnyxb9yv-1399271555.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47807/original/qnyxb9yv-1399271555.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47807/original/qnyxb9yv-1399271555.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47807/original/qnyxb9yv-1399271555.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47807/original/qnyxb9yv-1399271555.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/102408049@N03/11167786996">Oceans Institute/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Coordination can (and should) ensure that resources are used efficiently and strategically, and allow the full breadth of the marine science community – from the fundamental work conducted across the university sector, to the translational and applied science conducted by national science agencies such as CSIRO, <a href="http://www.ga.gov.au/marine.html">Geoscience Australia</a> and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (<a href="http://www.aims.gov.au/">AIMS</a>) – to have the maximum impact. </p>
<p>A couple of recent cases illustrate of how strategic, collaborative efforts across organisations and sustained investment in national-scale infrastructure provide vital support for decision makers across government and private sectors. </p>
<p>CSIRO oceanographer <a href="http://www.csiro.au/Organisation-Structure/Divisions/Marine--Atmospheric-Research/DavidGriffin.aspx">David Griffin</a> has been involved in the search for Malaysian Airlines <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/flight-mh370">flight MH370</a> this year. </p>
<p>He used advanced models of <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/forecasts/">ocean currents around Australia</a> developed through a collaboration between CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Australian Navy over the past decade, to determine likely movement of wreckage and allow search and rescue operations to pinpoint their activities.</p>
<p>The same models can also be used to track and predict oil spills, missing boats, valuable fish stocks and guide Navy operations. </p>
<p>The critical data required by the models comes from Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (<a href="http://www.imos.org.au/">IMOS</a>), a national, collaborative infrastructure facility set up eight years ago. IMOS has become an international leader in ocean observing and is now the critical observational foundation for much of Australia’s marine science. </p>
<p>Two strategic and sustained marine science investments – in ocean observations and modelling – provide the fantastic capability for David’s work, and many other applications to come. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47334/original/xwkrqqhh-1398824441.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47334/original/xwkrqqhh-1398824441.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47334/original/xwkrqqhh-1398824441.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47334/original/xwkrqqhh-1398824441.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47334/original/xwkrqqhh-1398824441.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47334/original/xwkrqqhh-1398824441.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47334/original/xwkrqqhh-1398824441.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47334/original/xwkrqqhh-1398824441.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A shoal of anthias (<em>Pseudanthias</em> sp.) swarm over a coral garden, Great Barrier Reef.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rling/438046949/in/photolist-EH4xX-8EgpaW-4xBUkx-EH4Vt-EH76B-418xhi-8CjHh6-EH6p6-3zV8Ne-Aid9-EH6LJ-EH6Nd-2RGmv5-8JCmL3-EH77z-EH4Y2-EH6KS-EH6T1-8CnQXq-8CnRME-3zZxbQ-8GGCeH-8NBnks-3zV8px-8JziBn-4uPDZ3-6aa2Zt-cgD6PU-8Nyh4g-8ScCWb-EH4mQ-8NBnbN-3zZtkW-dTdNJ1-6Jmr2z-EH78w-k6qW6j-7mddmM-54Py42-3zV7Hc-4aBRx-7ugPBX-k4SDUn-cAatqQ-EH75p-8CjHW2-6EBEMY-EH6VB-8JziEe-8CnRiL/">Richard Ling/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, following the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s questions about our management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia’s response has relied heavily on the body of evidence provided by strategic investment in marine science conducted over the past 30 years. </p>
<p>Science doesn’t always tell a good news story – the AIMS long term monitoring has shown that half of the <a href="http://www.aims.gov.au/latest-news/-/asset_publisher/MlU7/content/2-october-2012-the-great-barrier-reef-has-lost-half-of-its-coral-in-the-last-27-years">Great Barrier Reef’s coral cover</a> has been lost over the past 27 years due to the cumulative impacts of cyclones, <a href="https://theconversation.com/great-barrier-reef-dying-beneath-its-crown-of-thorns-6383">Crown of Thorns starfish</a> and bleaching (caused by heat stress). </p>
<p>Importantly though , the research conducted by AIMS, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (lead by James Cook University) and others also provides the evidence base for understanding ecosystem health and development of policy and regulation to stop the decline and rebuild the reef.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Australia has world class, and in many areas world leading, marine science capability. Appropriately, over the past few years the marine science community has recognised the need to work together and is increasingly collaborating in providing big-scale science focused on national and global needs. </p>
<p>But if we are to rise to the challenges of our growing “blue economy”, we will need to do much more. We will need to take a long-term outlook and focus effort on both the development of science capability (human and physical) and securing the best possible returns to Australia through its effective coordination and utilisation. </p>
<p>The first steps along this pathway are clear:</p>
<ol>
<li> a stable, sustained and genuinely national approach to maintaining, updating and transforming the infrastructure needed to conduct world-class marine research, along with the human resources to run it</li>
<li> targeted training and skills development in marine science (in particular, advanced quantitative skills), along with mechanisms to support and incentives for collaboration</li>
<li> direction of greater effort into communicating the relevance and benefits accruing from marine science, to ensure optimal awareness and uptake in policy, legislative and regulatory domains.</li>
</ol>
<hr>
<h2><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sabine-dittmann-115747/profile_bio">Sabine Dittmann</a>, Associate Professor of Marine Biology at Flinders University</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47809/original/5hh5dqw2-1399271691.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47809/original/5hh5dqw2-1399271691.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47809/original/5hh5dqw2-1399271691.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47809/original/5hh5dqw2-1399271691.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47809/original/5hh5dqw2-1399271691.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47809/original/5hh5dqw2-1399271691.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47809/original/5hh5dqw2-1399271691.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47809/original/5hh5dqw2-1399271691.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The RV Southern Surveyor is a national facility available to marine scientists to explore and study Australia’s oceans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55932465@N00/8730966026">longreach/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Marine sciences deliver data and modelling on oceanographic patterns benefiting weather forecast and maritime safety, provide information underlying sustainable seafood harvesting and production and knowledge on marine life underpinning biodiscoveries.</p>
<p>Yet it is a challenge to carry out marine research throughout the <a href="http://www.ga.gov.au/marine/jurisdiction/australia.html">huge realm</a> of Australia’s maritime jurisdiction. Australia has only a small fleet of research vessels for coastal and offshore waters and needs a better alliance of shore-based marine field stations. Ocean exploration relies on technological innovations.</p>
<p>As much of the oceans are still unexplored, curiosity driven research can provide useful discoveries such as alternative products to benefit human health. The <a href="http://www.coml.org/">Census of Marine Life</a> illustrated the highly diverse marine life in Australia’s seas, but taxonomy is a threatened skill unless the tide turns for museum research funding.</p>
<p>Rigorous experimental hypothesis testing, using shore- and sea-based facilities equipped with operating funds, technical and research staffing, can support mitigation of cumulative impacts and global warming. Marine research strengthens monitoring into the health of Australia’s seas facing growing economic use, the effectiveness of marine protected areas and biosecurity of marine invasive species.</p>
<p>Understanding marine ecosystems requires multidisciplinary approaches and a well-connected network of scientists. At times of highly competitive research circumstances, appreciation for collaborative skills has to increase. </p>
<p>Higher education in marine sciences, including maritime engineering, provides an informed and versatile work force to address challenging scientific questions and generate knowledge for decision making on the wise use of the seas around us. Continued participation in international programs on ocean exploration will strengthen Australia’s position as a leading nation for marine sciences.</p>
<hr>
<h2><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mike-coffin-1301/profile_bio">Mike Coffin</a>, Professor and Executive Director, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at University of Tasmania</h2>
<p><em>How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.</em> <br>
- Arthur C Clarke</p>
<p>The global ocean is humankind’s common heritage and responsibility. Ocean under Australian jurisdiction is significantly larger than the nation’s landmass. Our 0.3% of the world’s population is custodian for 3.8% of the world’s ocean, by far the greatest responsibility per capita among the G20 nations.</p>
<p>Effectively managing our vast public marine domain requires understanding it, yet our ignorance of the dynamic ocean is profound:</p>
<ul>
<li>of an estimated 2.2 million species of marine life, 91% await discovery and description</li>
<li>how changes in factors such as ocean temperature, acidity, light supply, nutrients and trace metals combine to drive marine life to acclimate, adapt or extinction is not understood</li>
<li>95% of the world’s seafloor remains to be mapped in detail</li>
<li>the soundscape of the 98% of the ocean beneath the surface zone, where light doesn’t penetrate and most life uses sound as its primary sense, is virtually unknown.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47812/original/qm2njshm-1399272364.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47812/original/qm2njshm-1399272364.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47812/original/qm2njshm-1399272364.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47812/original/qm2njshm-1399272364.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47812/original/qm2njshm-1399272364.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47812/original/qm2njshm-1399272364.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=789&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47812/original/qm2njshm-1399272364.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=789&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47812/original/qm2njshm-1399272364.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=789&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikveland/3252468593">Erik Veland/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>Australia’s vital and growing blue economy critically depends on understanding and managing the sea, through both national efforts (such as the <a href="http://www.imos.org.au/">Integrated Marine Observing System</a>) and international partnerships (such as the <a href="http://iodp.org/index.php">International Ocean Discovery Program</a>). </p>
<p>But much of the nation’s capability in the three pillars of marine research — observation, experimentation and modelling — across the major marine scientific disciplines — <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-can-nurture-growth-and-prosperity-through-biology-22255">biology</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/proteins-to-plastics-chemistry-as-a-dynamic-discipline-22123">chemistry</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/groundbreaking-earth-sciences-for-a-smart-and-lucky-country-22254">geoscience</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/physics-a-fundamental-force-for-future-security-22121">physics</a> — is precarious due to short-term and therefore vulnerable support.</p>
<p>In the context of a to-be-developed national strategy for marine science, increased and sustainable investment in exploratory, basic, applied and translational marine research — in both human capability and infrastructure — as well as improved underpinning primary, secondary and tertiary education in science and mathematics are needed to ensure a healthy, productive and resilient ocean for present and future generations.</p>
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<strong>This article is part of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/australia-2025-series">Australia 2025: smart science series</a>, co-published with the <a href="http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2014/02/australia-2025-smart-science/">Office of the Chief Scientist</a>. Further reading: <br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-future-depends-on-a-strong-science-focus-today-22075">Australia’s future depends on a strong science focus today</a> <br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/physics-a-fundamental-force-for-future-security-22121">Physics: a fundamental force for future security</a> <br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/proteins-to-plastics-chemistry-as-a-dynamic-discipline-22123">Proteins to plastics: chemistry as a dynamic discipline</a> <br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/optimising-the-future-with-mathematics-22122">Optimising the future with mathematics</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-can-nurture-growth-and-prosperity-through-biology-22255">Australia can nurture growth and prosperity through biology</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-healthy-future-lets-put-medical-science-under-the-microscope-23190">A healthy future? Let’s put medical science under the microscope</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/groundbreaking-earth-sciences-for-a-smart-and-lucky-country-22254">Groundbreaking earth sciences for a smart – and lucky – country</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-reach-for-the-stars-australia-must-focus-on-astronomy-22124">To reach for the stars, Australia must focus on astronomy</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-the-nation-will-be-impossible-without-engineers-23191">Building the nation will be impossible without engineers</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-got-ict-talent-so-how-do-we-make-the-most-of-it-22842">Australia’s got ICT talent – so how do we make the most of it?</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/agriculture-in-australia-growing-more-than-our-farming-future-22843">Agriculture in Australia: growing more than our farming future</a></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Gunn, receives no funding from organizations other than his employer, the Australian Institute of Marine Science. AIMS is a publically funded research organization that receives external funding from foundations, State and Commonwealth Government Departments and private industry. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Coffin has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Marine National Facility, the Australian Antarctic Science Program, the US National Science Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Norwegian Research Council, the Ocean Drilling Program, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, Joint Oceanographic Institutions, and the Schmidt Ocean Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sabine Dittmann works for Flinders University. She receives funding from the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources of South Australia and Natural Resources Management Boards. She is President of the Australian Marine Sciences Association Inc., which she represents at the Oceans Policy Science Advisory Group. She is also a member of the National Committee for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation of the Australian Academy of Science.</span></em></p>In many ways, Australia is defined by the oceans surrounding us. We have the world’s third largest ocean territory, most of our trade travels by sea, and we have vast offshore resources.John Gunn, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Institute of Marine ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.