Sustainable use of ocean resources

Bailey, D. M. and Hopkins, C. H. (2023) Sustainable use of ocean resources. Marine Policy, 154, 105672. (doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105672)

Abstract

Everyone agrees that the oceans should be used in a sustainable way, but there is no agreement on what this means, and this critically important concept has been devalued to the extent that it is typically a generic term for “greenness”. Problems include the lack of clear criteria for ecological sustainability, and that the definitions used for fisheries and other ecosystem components differ. The defining feature of “sustainability” as a concept is that it includes judgements about the future, as well as the present. Sustainable use can be assessed based on whether uses have impacts which would constrain future generations by preventing recovery of the environment, to a pre-use state, in a societally acceptable timescale. We present a practical approach to the assessment of ecological sustainability, based on its original roots in intergenerational equity, and which use the same criteria for all uses of the oceans.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The ideas underpinning this paper were developed during the project “Seafloor Integrity in Scotland” funded by Scottish Environment LINK to DMB, which supported CRH.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hopkins, Miss Charlotte and Bailey, Dr David
• Authors: Bailey, D. M., and Hopkins, C. H.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Marine Policy
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0308-597X
• ISSN (Online): 1872-9460
• Published Online: 19 May 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Marine Policy 154: 105672
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License