It is only in recent times that nations have begun to recognize the size, diversity and complexity of the ocean industries and their importance to all. To many people marine equals shipping, which is indeed an important industry as the world fleet carries over 90% of the world trade by tonnage and shipbuilding is a business worth over U.S. $32 billion per annum. Offshore oil & gas is the world’s biggest marine industry where off production alone can have a value of more than $300 billion per annum. Submarine cables are now a huge business that provides the “worldwide” part of the world wide web and enables the very existence of the internet.

Westwood, J., B. Parsons, and W. Rowley. 2001. Global ocean markets. Oceanography 14(3):83–91, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2001.26.

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