BLUE ECONOMY
the seabed and , sometimes , it ’ s below the seabed . “ It could also be the air above the sea ,” Professor Fletcher explains .
A sustainable blue economy has financial value , but it also has social and cultural capital . Portsmouth itself offers a wealth of examples – from the value of locally caught fish to the restaurant trade to the health benefits of living by the sea , through to the national security asset of the UK ’ s key naval port .
“ And you can ’ t discount the value of people simply being able to stroll along the beach on a sunny day ,” Professor Fletcher says .
His research is about enabling these eclectic values to be understood and assembled into a holistic decision-making system .
At this point of our voyage , we ’ re still wading in the shallows . The next challenge is to step into the deep , dark cold .
There are areas of the ocean that are not owned , managed or controlled by any country . Beyond the 200 nautical mile zones that fall under national jurisdictions are the high seas , which for Professor Fletcher are the “ last great wilderness on Earth ”.
This is a vast , 3D space , rich in biodiversity , and he says the big questions to answer are how to conserve and sustainably use the deep ocean ’ s resources .
Management imperative
Because of the deep sea ’ s status as a marine no-man ’ s land , Professor Fletcher says there is global concern that these areas are already being used and abused in a way that is creating an unsustainable future for the ocean . “ The UN is increasingly worried about the biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction ,” he says .
Professor Fletcher ’ s work is contributing to an ongoing UN legal process to supplement the Law of the Sea to better protect the deep ocean . He is contributing to a wholescale redesign of the infrastructure required to manage areas that lie beyond national jurisdiction .
“ Right now , we can identify areas that are important ecologically , but we can ’ t legally designate or protect these areas . There ’ s no way to protect against overexploitation , pollution , mining , or any other activities . So we are designing a whole new governance system .”
If a new , legally binding international instrument is agreed , it will represent a step change in the way the ocean is conserved . For many observers it is a big ‘ if ’, but Professor Fletcher believes the signs are promising , and more countries are coming to some consensus around what should be in this instrument .
Ocean literacy
As a scientist , an adviser to the UN and a science communicator , Professor Fletcher says that if you want people to listen and act , an effort has to be made to help them to understand and – in his words – acquire “ ocean literacy ”.
“ Ocean literacy means working with individuals or groups to achieve changes that will deliver sustainability policies … such as reducing the amount of singleuse plastic , encouraging different waste disposal practices , or making different food choices ,” he says .
This is where science is crucial . “ Research helps us to understand the implications of people ’ s lifestyle choices on ocean resources , what we do with waste being one example . There must be few people in Britain today who are not aware of the threat single-use plastic poses to our ocean . Ocean literacy seeks to turn this awareness into real change .”
14 REVOLUTION PLASTICS / 2023