Marine Resources
- Marine resourcesare materials and attributes found in the ocean that are considered to have value. That value can be intrinsic, or monetary.
- They include a huge number of things: biological diversity, fish and seafood supplies, oil and gas, minerals, sand and gravel, renewable energy resources, tourism potential, and unique ecosystems like coral reefs.
- These resources can have great monetary value, and even when they don’t, the uniqueness and opportunity for education and human enrichment cannot be quantified.
- The way we manage and use these resources is therefore of great importance.
Formation Of Marine Resources
- Fish and other marine lifeform through evolution over millions and billions of years.
- Oil and gasform when dead marine plants and animals are left on the ocean bed and become covered in sediments over many years. When they get buried deeply enough, heat and pressure becomes so great that they are compressed and form oil. With higher heat and compression they can go a stage further and form natural gas.
- Sand and gravelare simply sediment that gets broken down by fast-moving rivers and then swept into the sea.
- Mineralsform differently depending on the mineral, but generally form when lava from volcanoes solidifies.
- Water itself contains minerals, and when volcanoes erupt the lava solidifies to form rock that contains minerals.
- How fast the lava cools determines whether minerals form. It has to be slow enough that crystals form, since minerals are crystalline. The slower the lava cools, the larger the crystals.
- Coral reefsform when coral larvae attach to underwater rocks. These larvae grow to form the reef. Reefs usually form into one of three main structures: barrier reefs, atoll reefs, or fringing reefs.
- Fringing reefs are most often found around coastlines and go from the shore straight out to sea.
- Barrier reefs are also along the shore but at more of a distance, with deep water in between.
- Atoll reefs begin as a fringing reef that surrounds an underwater volcano.
- When the volcano recedes a barrier reef is formed. Once the reef reaches the surface, it becomes a circular atoll reef.
Types of Marine Resources
- Oceans are vast reservoirs of biotic resources.
- Nearly 40,000 species of molluscs, and 25,000 species of fishes are found in marine waters.
- Besides mineral resources, different types of vitamins and medicinal elements are also found.
- Generally, marine resources are divided into three categoriesg., biotic resources, abiotic (mineral and energy) resources and commercial resources (navigation, aviation, trade and transport etc.).
- On an average, marine resources are also classified into living resources and non-living resources.
- Alternatively, marine resources can also be divided into mineral resources, energy resources and food resources.
Marine resources can be divided into the following categories:
Marine Biological Resources:
(A) Food Resources:
- Animal resources, (Fishes, crabs, prawns, zoo planktons etc.).
- Plant resources, (phytoplanktons, sea grass etc.).
(B) Non-food Resources:
- Corals.
Alternatively marine biological resources can also be divided into the following 3 categories:
(A) Plankton Communities:
- Phytoplanktons.
- Zoo planktons.
(B) Nekton Communities:
- Pelagic fishes.
- Demersal fishes.
(C) Benthos communities:
- Epibenthic community.
- Benthic organisms.
- Inflora and Infauna.
Marine mineral resources:
(A) On the basis of location:
(i) Minerals of the continental shelf deposits.
(ii) Minerals of the continental slope deposits.
(iii) Minerals of the deep sea bottom deposits.
(B) On the basis of nature:
(i) Metallic minerals.
(ii) Fuel minerals (petroleum, natural gas).
(iii) Construction materials (gravels, sands etc.).
Energy resources:
(A) Conventional energy:
(i) Petroleum.
(ii) Natural gas.
(B) Non-conventional energy:
(i) Tidal energy.
(ii) Wave energy.
(iii) Biomass energy.
Freshwater resources:
Manufactured water (transformation of saline seawater through the processes of desalinization into potable water)
Importance of Marine Resources
Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on Marine Resources
Impact of anthropogenic activities on oceanic biodiversity
- As per Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (GBO-5) 2020
- More than 60 percent of the world’s coral reefs biodiversity are under threat
- 2016 Marine heatwaves across north Australia led to severe bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, led to mangrove die-offs in the gulf of Carpentaria
- The proportion of fish stocks fished sustainably is down by 5 percent since 2010
- Impact of marine litter: Ingestion, suffocation and entanglement of hundreds of marine species e.g. seabirds, whales, fishes. It contributes to spread of invasive marine organisms and bacteria which disrupts ecosystems, leading to mass loss of biodiversity.
- 8 million tons of plastic waste end up in ocean every year which make up for 80% of all marine debris (India dumps 6 lakh tones of plastic waste annually)
- As per Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 2019
- Over one-third of marine mammals and nearly one-third of sharks, shark relatives, and reef-forming corals are threatened with extinction
- One million species are threatened with extinction globally, and extinction rates have accelerated sharply in the past century.
- Human activities are the primary cause of these huge declines, particularly in the ocean where fishing is driving the greatest biodiversity loss
- Coastal land and sea use change has had the second largest impact on marine biodiversity after over fishing.
- Development along coastlines as well as offshore aquaculture, bottom trawling, and oil and gas extraction have altered habitats, and toxic pollutants in agricultural and industrial runoff poison coastal fish harvests.
Impact of anthropogenic activities on Oceanic food
- The food chains of the world’s oceans are at risk of collapse due to the release of greenhouse gases, overfishing and localized pollution
- The acidification of the ocean, where the pH of water drops as it absorbs carbon dioxide, will make it hard for creatures such as coral, oysters and mussels to form the shells and structures that sustain them.
- Marine heatwaves impact on food system:
- It affects ecosystem structure by supporting certain species and suppressing others e.g. after marine heatwaves in western Australia (2016) fish communities had a much more “tropical” nature: changing the behavior and habitat range of fish.
- Induced species range shifts, changes to vertical and across-shelf movement patterns, and losses in spawning habitats.
- Marine heatwaves led to impacts on fisheries and aquaculture e.g. outbreaks of Pacific Oyster mortality syndrome, thus impacting oyster aquaculture
- Issue of bioaccumulation and biomagnification: Toxic contaminants accumulate on the surface of plastic materials which when ingested by marine organisms enter their digestive systems leading to bioaccumulation
- Fish and other marine life ingest microplastics and nano plastic which in turn can find their way into the human food chain
Impact on Oceanic ecosystem
- As per UN’s 2nd World Ocean Assessment report:
- The number of “dead zones” – ocean areas where insufficient oxygen allows nothing to survive – are increasing, thus impacting the local ecosystem.
- There are now around 500 of these dead zones around the world.
- Marine ecosystems are connected and thus impact is worldwide: g. nutrients from the Amazon River have formed a seaweed bloom off the coast of West Africa that now exceeds 20 million tons 8,850 kilometers.
- Impact on seagrass ecosystem (considered ‘marine ecosystem engineers’): Human disturbance like eutrophication, mechanical destruction of habitat, overfishing, siltation, trawling is disturbing seagrass ecosystem (e.g. sea cow grass, needle seagrass)
- Impact on mangrove ecosystem: India has lost 40% of its mangrove’s areas in the last century, mainly due to agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, urban development and over exploitation
- Impact on coral reefs ecosystem: According to a study, since 1982 three mass bleaching events occurred in 1998, 2010 and 2016 have occurred in India.
- Impact on Polar ecosystem:
- Antarctica’s species are already changing their habitats. Many species have a narrow thermal tolerance.
- Adélie penguins, seals and krill are all moving south to colder parts of the continent, and the two flowering plant species have become increasingly commonplace.
- Emperor penguins are predicted to be extinct by the end of the century
- The Arctic is warming at least twice as fast (Arctic amplification)as the rest of the planet: temperate species are moving farther and farther north.
- There is higher abundance of trout and other fish that will compete with Arctic char, leading to a loss of those fish that are so vital for Indigenous communities
- Thawing permafrost creates chocolate milk like pool. They’re thick with all the mud that’s coming through them.” This can quickly wipe out invertebrate and fish communities.
- Blooms in phytoplankton occurring earlier in the year and even happening in autumn – a phenomenon rarely observed in Arctic waters previously.
- Antarctica’s species are already changing their habitats. Many species have a narrow thermal tolerance.
Impact of Oceanic Biodiversity Changes on Humans
- Changes to fisheries: Gross revenues from the world’s marine fisheries were around $150bn in 2010 USD, providing jobs for around 260 million people. As stocks are depleted and critical species are forced to migrate, millions of livelihoods will be at threat
- Food Security: Seafood is an essential for over 4.5bn people as 15% of their protein intake from seafood. Many of the populations are at risk from climate-related marine food insecurity, such as in the Pacific Islands and West Africa, reside in areas where land-based food production is also at risk.
- Health: Warming waters are also expected to expand the range of certain bacteria and harmful algal blooms, with potentially severe consequences for human health. Cholera is highlighted as one disease likely to become more of a threat that have already been observed spreading to the poles.
Conservation Measures
Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (GBO-5) revealed none of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (mandated governments to curb biodiversity loss by cutting pollution, managing fish stocks sustainably, removing subsidies that harm nature) have been fully achieved, and only six were partially met.
Measures by India
- India is on track to achieve the biodiversity targets and have overachieved on many of its target as given by Sixth National Report (NR6) to CBD
- Stronger integration of gender, Indigenous peoples and local communitiesin conservation efforts
- g. India’s Wetland conservation rules 2017 advocated ‘wise use’ concept involving communities in conservation
- Included biodiversityin national accounting systems
- India BIS standard banned microplastic of less than 5mm diameter in personal care product
- Government of India has taken steps to protect its coral reefs under Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction system (COMAPS), Coral Bleaching Alert System (CBAS)
- Coral Reef Recovery Project– is a joint venture of Wildlife Trust of India and the Gujarat Forest Department, supported by Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL)
- Kerala’s Suchitwa mission: fishermen are engaged in not just finding fish but also plastic that either get stuck in the fishing nets or floats in the sea. 25 tonnes waste recovered in 10months
- Andhra Pradesh has formed eco development committees and Van Samrakshan Samithis for joint implementation of projects in mangrove areas.
- Maharashtra became the first coastal state to declare a state mangrove tree species as a symbol to enhance conservation of salt-tolerant vegetation
International alliances:
- International blue carbon initiative: mitigating climate change through the conservation and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystem
- ‘magical mangroves- join the movement’ highlights significance of mangroves conservation
- Blue Nature Alliance It is a global partnership with aim is to advance Ocean Conservation Areas
- The alliance is working on large-scale efforts in Fiji’s Lau Seascape, Antarctica’s Southern Ocean and the Tristan da Cunha island group to collectively secure protections over 4.8 million square kilometers of the ocean
- GloLitter Partnerships Project: aims to help the maritime transport and fishing sectors move towards a low-plastics future.
- London Convention (1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Matter)
- The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA)
- International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)– preserve coral reefs and related ecosystems around the world.
Other measures:
- In Southeast Asia: “blue infrastructure development” and approaches such as “building with nature,” are being introduced as part of efforts to harmonize coastal protection and development with habitat and ecological protection
- Increasing our scientific knowledge base of the ocean: new feats of technology, namely sensors and autonomous observation platforms, are collecting more granular data on oceans, including in remote areas.
- One Health modelthat integrates ecosystems, agriculture, wildlife and urban landscapes into a singular approach to human and planetary health.
- 2050 vision for biodiversity: biodiversity be valued, conserved, restored and wisely used.
30X30 target under UN: protecting at least 30% planet by 2030
What more needs to be done
- Transition from linear to blue circular economy
- Increase the production of sustainably sourced ocean-based proteins: ocean-based proteins are substantially less carbon intensive than land-based animal protein. Such diet shift will reduce deforestation
- Decarbonize the international shipping sector: reduce pm2.5 form marine engine combustion, reduce ship speeds could positively impact marine mammals and other species
- Conserve and restore mangroves: it will protect us from storm surges, provide ecosystem services like regulating water quality and reducing coastal erosion
- Rebuilding overexploited or depleted fisheries, and responsiveness of existing fisheries management strategies reduces negative climate change impacts on fisheries, with benefits for regional economies and livelihoods.
- Restoration of vegetated coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrass meadows (coastal blue carbon’ ecosystems)
