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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