Summary Chapter 1
Introduction to Marine Economics
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Oceans are increasingly being used for various activities, including wind and wave power, marine biotechnology, and marine technology. This has led to national ocean policies and international agreements for sustainable marine development. However, an estimated 60% of major marine ecosystems have been degraded or used unsustainablely. Policymakers are now recognizing the need to support and analyze the economic and social aspects of marine activity.
The increased impetus on marine spatial planning for commercial and environmental sustain ability, regulation in areas such as fisheries, marine energy, and aquaculture, and economic information to aid governmental prioritization, governments require a range of economic indicators for the sector. These indicators may be then used to develop new policy measures to facilitate the sustainable development of the resource and its commercial activity.
This book aims to engage academics, professionals and policy makers on the importance of the marine resource to society.
1.2 A NOTE ON NOMENCLATURE
The terminology related to the ocean economy is used differently around the world and include such terms as “ocean industry,” “marine economy,” “marine industry,” “marine activity,” and “maritime sector” (Park & Kildow, 2014). More recently the economic activities associated with our oceans and seas have also been branded as the “Blue Economy” with both Europe and China keen to develop their ocean resources. The emergence of the “Blue Economy” brand also coincides with the increased emphasis on “greening” the economy. By virtue of its color, the Blue Economy has somehow become synonymous with the sustainable development of the world’s oceans and seas.
1.3 THE MARINE RESOURCE AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Land activities have surpassed their limits, and new technologies enable greater sea interaction, making future wide-scale exploitation of marine resources inevitable. Marine management as a policy framework has always contained an element of concern about the type and level of economic activity asso-ciated with the use of ocean resources, to date the information needs of policy makers and managers has focused on data about the marine resource itself rather than the economic environment in which it is used.
However, given the increased impetus on marine spatial planning for commercial and environmental sustainability. Fisheries, marine energy, and aquaculture, the obvious failure of single-sector marine policies to achieve sustainable resource use means that economic and social data are recognized as indispensable to the management and conservation of the marine resource .These indicators may be then used to develop new policy measures to facilitate the sustainable development of the resource and its commercial activity
1.4 WHAT IS THE MARINE ECONOMY?
Colgan (2003) introduced the concept of “ocean GDP” which he defined as “the economic activities and industries that utilize ocean resources in a production process.” Within this definition, the marine sector is conceptualized as any good or service that directly or indirectly use the marine resource within their process of production.
A more recent piece of research further define the marine economy as:
1. Activities that explore and develop ocean resources 2. Activities that use ocean space
3. Activities that protect the ocean environment 4. Activities that use ocean products as a main input
5. Activities that provide goods and services to ocean activities
The marine economy includes all enterprises that “derive all or part of their inputs from the ocean” out. The terms “coastal” and “marine” economy are not synonymous and the marine economy is considerably smaller than the coastal economy.
We can conclude that Marine economy is the economic activity that takes place in, or uses the marine environment, or produces goods and services necessary for those activities, or makes a direct contribution to the national economy.
1.5 MEASURING THE MARINE ECONOMY Data
The multitude of sectors, from recreational and tourism activity to marine renewable energy and biotechnology, dependent on the ocean resource is hidden in a tangle of land- based activities. Data collection is the most time intensive step in producing an estimate of the marine economy
Data Types
Data types in marine sector is divided by 3 type, which is. Type 1 data is data that is in the public domain. Such estimates are generally confined to those sectors whose connection to the sea is clear (i.e., commercial fisheries, coastal transportation). Type 2 data is data that is publicly collected but is not released into the public domain. National statistical agencies prepare a number of business censuses and surveys each year. Type 3 data is data that is not available in the public domain. The sectors where there is no publicly available data are sectors that are generally not easily recognizable as marine based. These sectors are often indistinguishable from their land-based counterparts within economic datasets.
If such data is not available, the researcher can also do the survey. Surveys can be administered face-to-face or via post or email. The first step in conducting a survey is to compile a sector-by-sector list of companies.
Methodology
• First, data should be comparable across industries and space. For example, the measure for employment in one industry should be the same as in all other industries. This is particularly important when data is being collected and collated across different datasets.
• Second, data should be comparable across time, so that changes in the sector can be observed and measured. Both Ireland and France have produced data on the marine sector on a biannual basis.
• Third, the data should be consistent with standard economic theory on the measurement of economic activity. For example, it should not permit double counting of economic activity across sectors, meaning all measures can summed across industries and geography.
There is also five step methodology to estimate the marine economy. These steps include:
1. Define the industries that are part of the marine economy 2. Identify publicly available economic data
3. Collect nonpublic data from alternative data sources or a survey 4. Record the economic indicators of interest
5. Ensure consistency of data across different data sources, compile the data and provide sectoral and spatial breakdowns of the value of the marine sector
Once all the data has been collected, the next steps involve assessing the performance of the marine economy. The general approach for assessing the performance of a sector relates to standard indicators of production.
1.6 INTERNATIONAL TRENDS
Six of the studies conducted on the marine economy the marine service sector, particularly maritime transport and marine tourism provided the largest contribution of GDP, GVA, and employment to the marine economy. Oil and Gas were the largest contributors to the UK and Canadian marine economies, while ship building dominated the South Korean marine economy.
1.7 CONCLUSIONS
Developing the means to understand the economic values associated with ocean and coastal resources is an essential part of efforts to restore, maintain, and enhance the oceans as a sustainable source of wealth.
