1998 Year of the Ocean Perspectives on Marine Environmental Quality 



this paper, "ocean" will be broadly defined to include estuarine, marine and other coastal waters 

 (e.g.. the Great Lakes).' 



THE VALUE OF MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 



The ocean plays a critical role in energy and nutrient cycling; it supplies minerals and 

 other natural resources, energy, and habitat for sustaining living resources, and provides a 

 medium for recreation, learning and enlightenment. Nearshore ecosystems are supported by the 

 ocean and the interrelationship between oceanic and land systems. This interrelationship can 

 affect the profit and growth potential of many economic sectors, including natural resource 

 harvesting (e.g., minerals and oil), commercial and recreational fishing, real estate, 

 manufacturing, tourism, and waste assimilation. For communities and businesses around the 

 country, clean water can mean the difference between economic decline and a bright, prosperous 

 future. For marine organisms and ecosystems, marine environmental quality can mean the 

 difference between life and death. 



Value can be quantified for some oceanic resources (e.g., oil energy) and services (e.g., 

 transportation), while for other resources, values can only be approximated. Each year, 64,000 

 million tons of sand is mined from the ocean for construction purposes and for beach 

 renourishment. In the United States, offshore crude oil sites generate between $1 and $9 billion 

 annually and directly employ 85,000 Americans. These sites account for 15 percent of U.S. oil 

 production and 26 percent of natural gas production. While offshore petroleum drilling sites are 

 still a viable source of energy, "alternative" non-hydrocarbon renewable energy sources such as 

 temperature gradients and tidal energy are being explored. These alternative energy sources may 

 depend upon marine environmental quality. Approximately 95 percent of all U.S. foreign trade is 

 carried by vessels and passes through U.S. ports (MARAD, 1994). In 1992, 897 million tons of 

 goods equaling $488 billion passed through U.S. ports (DOT, 1994)." 



Food harvested from the ocean generates approximately $38 billion in economic activity 

 for the nation annually. The bulk of this revenue is generated by the commercial fishing industry 

 which employs nearly 250,000 people and 70,000 vessels. Recreational fisheries contribute an 

 additional $18 billion armually to the U.S. gross national product. The impacts of poor water 

 quality include fish kills and shellfish bed closures, contributing to millions of dollars in lost 

 fishing revenues. Wetland losses, water diversions, and other construction activities have resulted 

 in the loss of spawning and nursery habitat, further reducing commercial and recreational 

 fisheries' profits. (U.S. EPA, 1996). 



' This broad definition is required because of the extensive use of estuaries, wetlands, and other coastal areas by humans, marine 

 organisms, and wildlife dependent upon coastal ecosystems, in addition, evaluation of the interconnections between the land, 

 particularly coastal watersheds, and the sea is critical to understanding the value of the resources and services provided by the 

 ocean, and the potential impacts of land-based activities, often far from the ocean, upon ocean waters. 

 2 For more information, see the Ocean Energy and Minerals Resources and the Marine Transportation Year of the Ocean 

 Discussion Papers. 



E-3 



