The Ocean Resource is one of Earth’s most valuable natural resources. It provides food in the form of fish and shellfish—about 200 billion pounds are caught each year.
Ocean resources provide jobs, goods, and services for billions of people around the world and have immense economic importance. Their resources include food, fuel, renewable energy, minerals, sand and gravel, and tourism.
It is mined for minerals (salt, sand, gravel, and some manganese, copper, nickel, iron, and cobalt can be found in the deep sea) and drilled for crude oil.
Types of Ocean Resources
Ocean Resources can be classified in to two broad categories –
- Biotic Resources
- Planktons
- Nektons
- Benthos
- Abiotic Resources
- Mineral
- Energy
Mineral Reserves
- Mineral dissolved in seawater:
- Magnesium
- Gold
- Uranium
- Thorium , etc.
- Continental Shelf and Slope Deposits:
- monazite sand (source of thorium) at Kerala coast
- Gold (Alaska)
- Zircon (Brazil, Australia)
- Diamond (SouthAfrica)
- Fishes are rich in nitrate and phosphate, high protein, medicinal use
- Pearls
- Deep ocean bottom deposits:
- Manganese nodules– It comprises several minerals like nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, zinc, etc.
- The maximum percentage of Iron and Manganese.
- Cobalt-rich marine deposits associated with seamounts and guyots.
- Phosphate-in form of phosphoritic modules on shallow seabeds.
Energy reserves
- Renewable
- Renewable Energy: Sustainable marine energy can play a vital role in social and economic development.
- Fisheries: Sustainable fisheries can generate more revenue, more fish and help restore fish stocks.
- Maritime Transport: Over 80% of international goods traded are transported by sea.
- Tourism: Ocean and coastal tourism can bring jobs and economic growth.
- Climate Change: Oceans are an important carbon sink (blue carbon) and help mitigate climate change.
- Waste Management: Better waste management on land can help oceans recover.
- Non-Renewable
- Gas hydrates
- Mineral oil
- Natural gas
Blue Economy
- It is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.
- It advocates the greening of ocean development strategies for higher productivity and conservation of the ocean’s health.
- It encompasses–
- Renewable Energy: Sustainable marine energy can play a vital role in social and economic development.
- Fisheries: Sustainable fisheries can generate more revenue, more fish, and help restore fish stocks.
- Maritime Transport: Over 80% of international goods traded are transported by sea.
- Tourism: Ocean and coastal tourism can bring jobs and economic growth.
- Climate Change: Oceans are an important carbon sink (blue carbon) and help mitigate climate change.
- Waste Management: Better waste management on land can help oceans recover.
Challenges
- The threat of sea-borne terror
- Natural Disasters
- Machine – Made problems
- Impact of climate change
- Marine pollution
- Overexploitation of marine resources
Also Read : Surface Water Resources
