Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

6 aquatic food system innovations transforming women’s livelihoods

• Shakuntala Thilsted, World Fish Center • Fisheries & Aquaculture

WorldFish’s Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health, Aquatic Food Systems, and Vice Chair of the 2021 UN Food System Summit Action Track 4: Advance Equitable Livelihoods, Dr. Shakuntala Thilsted, shares her experience developing nutrition-sensitive innovations that are transforming women’s lives.

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A High-Tech Path To a Blue Economy

• Scientific American Custom Media

Technological innovation and a deep conservation ethic have made Canada a destination for ocean industry leaders.

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One ocean: At the intersection of green energy and a blue economy

• Laura Rose, Global Aquaculture Alliance • Energy Solutions • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Oceanography study explores the relationships between offshore wind energy and fisheries industries, suggests inclusive approaches.

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Seagrasses and mangroves can suck carbon from the air

• The Economist • Energy Solutions • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Along with two other kinds of coastal ecosystem—mangrove swamps and tidal marshes—seagrass meadows are particularly good at taking carbon dioxide from the air and converting it into plant matter. 

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Battery metals firm DeepGreen signs deal to merge with SOAC

• Mining Technology

Canadian battery metals firm DeepGreen Metals has agreed to merge with special purpose acquisition company Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (SOAC) to go public.

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Israeli Maritime Startups Boom as UN Decade of Ocean Science Kicks Off

• Tiffany Duong, EcoWatch

While traditional investment in the ocean technology sector has been tentative, growth in Israeli maritime innovations has been exponential in the last few years, and environmental concern has come to the forefront.

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Blue Bonds: An Audacious Plan to Save the World’s Ocean

• The Nature Conservancy

TNC’s Blue Bonds for Conservation model helps governments unlock funding for conservation—and could benefit millions of people in coastal regions.

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How technology can help us achieve at least 30% ocean protection (commentary)

• Simon Cripps, Mongabay • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Securing such a vast area requires new cutting-edge technology to monitor illegal activities and movements of species. 

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Asia Primed for Rare Blue Bond Sales to Fund Sea Protection

• Rebecca Choong Wilkins and Todd Gillespie, Bloomberg Green

Few places in the world have greater need for a new type of sustainable debt to fund water projects and protect the oceans than Asia, with its more than 100,000 kilometers of coastline.

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Could plastic roads make for a smoother ride?

• Chermaine Lee, BBC • Energy Solutions • Plastics & Pollution

From lower carbon emissions to fewer potholes, there are a number of benefits to building a layer of plastic into roads.

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Blue carbon: how three Australian marine sites lock away 2bn tonnes of CO2

• Graham Readfearn, The Guardian

Three of Australia’s world heritage-listed marine sites have more than 2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide locked away in their vast seagrass meadows, coastal mangroves and tidal marshes, according to a new report from a UN agency.

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5 Not-So-Fun Facts About Plastics in the Arctic

• Sarah Bobbe, Ocean Conservancy • Plastics & Pollution

Even the remote Arctic marine ecosystem has a plastics problem.

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Blue economy: how a handful of companies reap most of the benefits in multi-billion ocean industries

• Virdin, J. et al., The Conversation

To make these industries sustainable, we need to know more about the businesses which comprise them. So who’s driving this breakneck growth in the ocean economy?

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Where does plastic pollution go when it enters the ocean?

• Sutherland, B. et al., The Conversation • Plastics & Pollution

Of the hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic waste we produce each year, it’s estimated that around ten million tonnes enters the ocean.

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Dispatch: eXXpedition's First Virtual Voyage is Complete

• Plastic Pollution Coalition • Plastics & Pollution

Jackie Nuñez, Founder of The Last Plastic Straw and Advocacy Program Manager at Plastic Pollution Coalition, was selected to embark on leg 15 of the eXXpedition, an all-women voyage to document plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.

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Why insect production may have minimal impact on aquaculture sustainability

• Rob Fletcher, The Fish Site • Fisheries & Aquaculture

While the insect farming industry is likely to "come of age" this decade, its overall impact on aquaculture may be more limited.

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Hidden pollution from shipping threatens sustainable ocean efforts

• University of Portsmouth, Phys Org • Plastics & Pollution • Shipping & Ports

Ships are the polluting 'elephants in the room' nobody is talking about despite a global drive to make oceans cleaner, according to new research.

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On U.S. East Coast, Has Offshore Wind’s Moment Finally Arrived?

• Jon Hurdle, Yale Environment 360 • Energy Solutions

After years of false starts, offshore wind is poised to take off along the East Coast. Commitments by states to purchase renewable power, support from the Biden administration, and billions in new investment are all contributing to the emergence of this fledgling industry.

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How 3D, Location Intelligence Can Help Drive A Sustainable Ocean Economy

• Marianna Kantor, Forbes

The ocean, already the world's seventh-largest economy, is in trouble—and now comes the part where we realize we have the technology to do something about it.

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Global freshwater fish populations at risk of extinction, study finds

• Fiona Harvey, The Guardian • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Freshwater fish are under threat, with as many as a third of global populations in danger of extinction, according to an assessment.

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