Critically evaluate the various resources of the oceans which can be harnessed to meet the resource crisis…

Question

Critically evaluate the various resources of the oceans which can be harnessed to meet the resource crisis in the world.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Ocean minerals, energy, desalinated water and food can ease the global resource crisis only partially, because overfishing, fragile deep-sea ecosystems, high costs and weak governance limit their use. The FAO (2024) found 37.7% of assessed fish stocks overfished.

**Introduction**

Oceans cover about 71% of the Earth's surface, and the Blue Economy is hailed as an answer to the world's resource crisis, though its promise is real only within ecological, technical and legal limits.

**Ocean Resources That Can Ease the Crisis**

SKETCH: tree | Harnessable Ocean Resources
- Ocean resources
  - Minerals: nodules, crusts
  - Energy: oil, hydrates, tides
  - Water: desalination
  - Food: fish, seaweed

1. **Critical minerals**: Polymetallic nodules carry nickel, cobalt and copper, and India explores a 75,000 sq km Central Indian Ocean block under an International Seabed Authority contract, backed by the Deep Ocean Mission (2021).
2. **Energy and water**: Offshore Mumbai High yields oil and gas, the Krishna-Godavari basin holds gas hydrates, and Chennai's Minjur and Nemmeli plants desalinate seawater.
3. **Food**: Aquatic animal food consumption rose from 9.1 kg per person in 1961 to 20.7 kg in 2022 (FAO, 2024).

**Limits That Temper the Promise**

1. **Overfishing**: The FAO (2024) found 37.7% of assessed stocks overfished, so wild catch cannot simply keep growing.
2. **Fragile deep sea**: Nodule mining stirs sediment plumes over ecosystems that recover over centuries, and more than 30 countries back a precautionary pause.
3. **Cost**: Desalination is energy-hungry and dumps brine, the Kutch tidal plant stalled on cost, and gas hydrates remain uncommercial.
4. **Governance**: UNCLOS makes the deep seabed the common heritage of mankind, and the High Seas Treaty (in force 2026) seeks fair sharing of marine genetic resources.

**Conclusion**

Ocean resources can supplement but not replace land resources, easing the crisis only partially and only if harvested within limits. Science-led rules can turn the Blue Economy into lasting security, in line with SDG 14.

Critically evaluate the various resources of the oceans which can be harnessed to meet the resource crisis in the world.

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