The Ocean and Us

purposes. Additionally, as of 2011 nearly 800,000 tonnes of wild seaweed was harvested annually in 28 countries around the world (Rebours et al, 2014). Tourism A wide range of economic sectors utilise marine ecosystem services, and some sectors, such as tourism, depend partly on marine environments and their services such aswater purification, and partly on other infrastructure (SDG8 promote full and productive employment and decent work for all ) ; (SDG10 reduce inequality within and among countries ). Tourism, a growing sector in many economies, that is often concentrated in coastal environments. More than 100 countries and territories benefit from tourism specifically associated with coral reefs. In 23 of these, reef related tourism accounts for more than 15 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) (Burke et al., 2011). Annually, more than 120 million people pursue recreational marine fishing, whale watching and/or diving. Pursuit of just these three activities in 2003 was estimated to support nearly 1 million jobs and resulted in nearly USD 50 billion (2003 USD) in spending (Cisneros-Montemayor and Sumaila, 2010). Waste Some economic sectors, such as mining and sanitation, utilise marine ecosystem services indirectly (e.g. waste treatment) in order to reduce their operational costs (SDG8, SDG10). The ocean absorbs a significant amount of anthropogenic waste. In a year, it absorbs as much as 400 million tonnes of dredge waste, 7 million tonnes of mine tailings, and 100,000 tonnes of fish waste (MKC, 2012). A proportion of these wastes is bio-remediated (broken down into less hazardous substances) by the oceans.

Garth Cripps, Blue Ventures, 2015

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