As the projected 7.5 per cent contraction of the European economy takes hold, the European Commission is set to usher in its own brand of Marshall Plan, a stimulus or recovery package to the tune of at least €1 trillion, which is equivalent to almost one per cent of the combined European bloc’s GDP.

The Ocean Mission Board, like its four contemporaries (Mission Boards on Cancer, Soil, Urban Mobility and Climate Change), has been tasked with identifying ways of how the ocean can contribute towards economic recovery in Europe. This column reports upon some of the audacious ways through which the ocean can sustainably contribute to the generation of a new crop of jobs as well as to renewed economic activity on the continent.

Offshore energy generation: this sector has the potential to foster the creation of new jobs upon the injection of adequate investment, with fixed wind turbines, floating wind turbines and wave energy installations being touted as the most promising in terms of blue energy generation.

Innovative grid-connected multi-use platforms, which combine energy production with offshore tourism and aquaculture as well as an element of marine conservation (through an extended MPA designation) and marine observation are also being seen as promising novel business models, which combine different sectors and which might usher in the need for overhauled governance, logistics and research.

Vessel retrofitting: With ‘green shipping’ all the rage at the moment, the retrofitting of existing vessels with more efficient propulsion systems, which curtail the sector’s burgeoning greenhouse emissions, is seen as both an environmental priority as well as an interesting economic opening. Since most vessel break-up and recycling is currently taking place outside

Europe, retaining some of these activities within European waters is also being considered.

Low-carbon aquaculture: the burgeoning global demand for protein and the concurrent surge in non-meat consumers is a gilt-edged blue economy opportunity. Namely, macroalgae, microalgae and cyanobacteria are being held in high regard by virtue of their high protein value, their carbon offsetting contribution and the low-impact nature of the installations growing them, making them ideal both for human and for farmed finfish consumption.

Besides the envisaged surge in algal farming, a surge in other low-trophic aquaculture is also being proposed, such as that featuring shellfish, which can also exert a positive water quality influence through their water filtration habits. To cap it all, the by-products of algal and shellfish harvesting can be exploited for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical (e.g. for food supplements) and cosmetic purposes.

Water and waste water management:  a greater compliance with the relevant European Directives (e.g. the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and the Drinking Water Directive) could in turn spell a higher investment in sewage treatment plants (e.g. in tertiary treatment) and water loss mitigation (e.g. sensors). This would inevitably translate into a heightened reuse for irrigation purposes of water which would other otherwise be squandered within run-off, as well as higher rates of groundwater recharge.

The global demand for protein and the concurrent surge in non-meat consumers is a gilt-edged blue economy opportunity- Alan Deidun

Still within the freshwater domain, it is estimated that there are anywhere between 6,000 and 9,000 obsolete dams across the European continent. De-damning the affected rivers would restore wildlife and disrupted sediment dynamics along extensive stretches of the European riverine network besides generating sorely-needed jobs within local communities.

Blue parks programme: member states would be mandated to conduct at least one national marine restoration project, which could feature a reforestation programme with a seagrass (e.g. our own Posidonia) or seaweed (e.g. kelp) species or a re-population programme for an endangered species, with the primary targets of offsetting carbon emissions, meeting conservation targets and generating employment needs for disciplines notoriously shorn of opportunities, such as the marine biology one.

Plastic recycling technology: this tier would entail an upscaled chemical recycling of plastics, so that plastic waste exports from Europe to third countries would be reduced, besides generating copious volumes of new employment opportunities at the new envisaged recycling plants, as well as an investment in the production of biodegradable bioplastics. The latter aspect would also tick the Circular Economy box.

Coastal tourism revamping: it stands to reason that tourism would be one of the hardest-hit sectors with the current pandemic, as social distancing has ground all cross-border travel to a halt. Coastal tourism can be imbued with new esprit through renewed water fountain installation and plastic bottle deposit efforts on beaches, besides a renewed momentum to electrify coastal travel infrastructure (e.g. scooters and small vessels) and a switch to low-carbon coastal resort and camp site facilities.

As a contingency for further future pandemic outbreaks and a consequent dampening of tourism flows, virtual amenity visiting facilities, such as those already implemented by a number of museums and aquaria, should be invested in so as to compensate, at least in part, for the slump in visitor numbers as access would still be against payment.

Besides the multifarious aspects touched upon within this column, two other aspects are worth mentioning – the proposed investment in digital data services, in support of marine observation and forecasting, as well as a ramping up of pan-European ocean literacy promotion initiatives, including the promulgation of the Blue Schools concept.

The EU has finally the opportunity to walk the walk when it comes to the Blue Economy spiel it has been peddling for some years now, by capitalising on the current momentum to bounce back in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and invest heavily in the ocean. If this were to materialise, the vision forged within the Integrated Maritime Policy green paper way back in 2005 under the watch of then European Commissioner Joe Borg would finally have come to fruition.

Alan Deidun is a member of the EU’s Ocean Mission Board.

alan.deidun@gmail.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.