Ocean Resources

Notes

Oceans cover about 71% of the Earth and provide food, minerals, energy and transport. The blue economy is the sustainable use of ocean resources for growth, jobs and ocean health.

Biotic resources

Fisheries: richest on continental shelves and where warm and cold currents meet: the Grand Banks, North Sea, the north-west Pacific and off Peru. Mariculture and seaweed farming are growing.
Plankton, marine medicines (bioprospecting) and biodiversity.

Mineral and energy resources

Offshore oil and gas: the Persian Gulf, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico; in India, Mumbai High and the Krishna-Godavari basin.
Placer deposits and beach sands: monazite (thorium), ilmenite, rutile, zircon (Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu).
Polymetallic nodules (manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper) on the deep sea floor: the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (Pacific) and the Central Indian Ocean Basin, where India holds an exploration contract (about 75,000 sq km) with the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
Polymetallic sulphides (along the Indian Ocean ridges; India has a contract of about 10,000 sq km) and gas hydrates (the Krishna-Godavari basin and the Andaman area).
Renewable energy: tidal, wave, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) and offshore wind.
Salt, and fresh water by desalination.

Other uses: sea lanes (about 90% of world trade by volume), ports, tourism.

Legal framework: UNCLOS (1982)

Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles. Contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): 200 nautical miles. Continental shelf: up to 200 nm, extendable to 350 nm.
The seabed beyond national jurisdiction (the Area) is the common heritage of mankind, managed by the ISA (Kingston, Jamaica). The BBNJ (High Seas) Treaty was adopted in 2023 for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.
India's EEZ is about 2 million sq km.

India's initiatives: Deep Ocean Mission (2021) with Samudrayaan, a manned submersible (Matsya 6000) for 6,000 m; Sagarmala (port-led development); a Blue Economy policy framework.

Concerns: overfishing, marine pollution (plastics, oil), climate change, deep-sea mining impacts, and maritime disputes.

Key Points

Resources: fisheries, oil and gas, polymetallic nodules, gas hydrates, beach sands, tidal and wave energy.
UNCLOS (1982): territorial sea 12 nm; EEZ 200 nm.
ISA manages the Area; India has contracts in the Central Indian Ocean Basin.
Deep Ocean Mission and Samudrayaan (Matsya 6000).
Blue economy: sustainable use of ocean resources.

MCQs

Q1. The Exclusive Economic Zone under UNCLOS extends up to:

(a) 12 nm
(b) 24 nm
(c) 200 nm
(d) 350 nm
Ans: (c).

Q2. Polymetallic nodules are rich in:

(a) Manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper
(b) Coal and lignite
(c) Gold and silver only
(d) Petroleum
Ans:
(a).

Q3. Matsya 6000 is a:

(a) Fishing vessel
(b) Manned deep-sea submersible
(c) Satellite
(d) Oil rig
Ans: (b). Part of the Samudrayaan under the Deep Ocean Mission.