Oceans & Seas

Oceans and seas play a vital role in the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as they significantly contribute to the Earth's biosphere's health and the global economy. They are critical to sustaining life on earth, acting as a major source of food and oxygen while also serving as natural carbon sinks that mitigate climate change impacts. SDG 14, "Life Below Water," explicitly acknowledges the importance of conservation and the sustainable use of the world's oceans, seas, and marine resources.

Oceans absorb about 30% of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming. However, this process has implications such as ocean acidification, negatively impacting marine biodiversity and ecosystems. These impacts, coupled with unsustainable fishing practices and pollution, threaten the health of our oceans and seas. SDG 14 sets targets to prevent and reduce marine pollution of all kinds, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems, and regulate harvesting and end overfishing to restore fish stocks to sustainable levels.

Oceans also support economic wellbeing. Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. By protecting oceanic ecosystems, the SDGs also support SDG 1, "No Poverty," and SDG 8, "Decent Work and Economic Growth." Furthermore, the oceanic routes are critical for global trade, supporting SDG 9, "Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure."

Furthermore, by implementing strategies for cleaner and more sustainable use of oceans and seas, it can also contribute to SDG 13, "Climate Action." For instance, developing and implementing new technologies to harness energy from waves and tides can promote renewable energy usage and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, aligning with SDG 7, "Affordable and Clean Energy."

This book chapter addresses SDG 9 and 17 by explaining the evolution of the blue economy. From the moment it moved offshore, the oil and gas industry had a requirement for the skills of geotechnical engineers, geoscientists, meteorologists, and oceanographers to ensure that activities were conducted efficiently and safely, and a core element of the new blue economy was created. The migration into deeper water created new challenges, and the industry invests heavily in scientific studies, and research and development, to overcome them. In many cases, oil and gas companies form consortiums that support collaborative research conducted jointly by academic and industry scientists. As the level of engagement with the ocean observing community has grown, the industry has released much of its data into the public domain and supported the development of appropriate degrees and training to ensure that the new blue economy has a capable workforce. As the balance of energy moves away from hydrocarbons to renewable energy sources, and new industries emerge such as deep-sea mining, requiring the services of ocean scientists, the new blue economy created by the oil and gas industry will be well equipped to serve their needs.
World Environment Day is the most renowned day for environmental action. Since 1974, it has been celebrated every year on June 5th, engaging governments, businesses, celebrities and citizens to focus their efforts on a pressing environmental issue. To mark World Environment Day 2021, Elsevier presents a curated list of free access journal articles and book chapters in support of this year's theme - Ecosystem Restoration.
The clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) is a common model species in studies assessing the impact of climate changes on tropical coral fish physiology, metabolism, growth, and stress. However, the basic endocrine principles for the control of food intake and energy homeostasis, under normal and elevated sea temperatures, in this species remain unknown. In this work, we studied food intake and growth in clown anemonefish reared at different temperatures and with different food availability.

Compared to other climate regions of the world, Mediterranean regions are likely to experience more severe effects of climate change as rainfall decreases and temperatures increase. Global climate change models predict a reduction in rainfall and rise in the temperature of rivers in South Africa's Cape Fold Ecoregion (CFE) – a Mediterranean region in the south-west corner of the country.

Earth Day is widely recognised as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behaviour and provoke policy changes. This day recognises and celebrates the Earth and its ecosystems as our home and highlights the need to protect earth to enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change, and stop the collapse of biodiversity. To raise awareness of Earth Day 2021, Elsevier presents a curated list of free access journal articles and book chapters in support of this year's theme - Restore our Earth.
The EU Parliament voted to fast-track an inclusion of shipping into the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) as of 2022. This white paper provides an in-depth analysis of maritime ETS and its impact on the shipping industry, contributing to SDGs 12 and 13.
Nexis Newsdesk™ has created graphics on the SDGs and the Global Media Landscape, offering charts & insights into global media coverage of the Sustainable Development Goals. View findings for Global Goal 14.
Anthropogenic activity is a major driver of seabird injury and mortality in the 21st century. Although most seabirds perish within the natural environment as a result of human activities, some are rescued and admitted to rehabilitation centres. Despite the considerable number of admissions, little is known regarding the physiological response seabirds have to specific admission reasons and the rehabilitation process.
There exist no future projections of fishery conflict that consider wider societal trends. This paper builds four future fishery conflict scenarios by using a multimethod approach. The scenarios take place between 2030 and 2060 in the North-East Atlantic, the East China Sea, the coast of West Africa, and the Arctic and explore implications of ongoing trends in conflict-prone regions of the world. They function as accessible communication tools and aim to foster anticipatory governance capacity in the pursuit of future ocean security.

Proximity and size of the nearest market (‘market gravity’) have been shown to have strong negative effects on coral reef fish communities that can be mitigated by the establishment of closed areas. However, moray eels are functionally unique predators that are generally not subject to targeted fishing and should therefore not directly be affected by these factors. We used baited remote underwater video systems to investigate associations between morays and anthropogenic, habitat, and ecological factors in the Caribbean region.

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