‘We are seeing a global blue revolution in food, transport and energy now — booming coastal real estate is a true paradox of climate change’
Martin Smith is the George M. Woodwell Distinguished Professor of Environmental Economics at Duke University. Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das, he discusses ocean economics — and sustainable seas:
Q. What is the core of your research? A. I work on the economics of oceans and coasts. Within economics, this is quite a niche area — yet, oceanic environments compose 70% of our planet. I focus on fisheries, seafood production and the markets for these. I also study aquaculture and the farming of fish as well as climate impacts and adaptations in coastal zones — whether these strategies are suited to the long term or maladaptive is tied to key economic issues. My work is linked with bioeconomics, which puts biology and economics together and studies stocks of natural resources alongside economic drivers of human systems.
Q. What is the global ‘blue revolution’? A. The term ‘blue revolution’ puts emphasis on the role of oceans in our daily lives and economies. One of its drivers is a recognition that food security globally will increasingly rely on aquatic environments — this is already of critical importance for many people worldwide but there is an awareness that a growing share of animal protein, to the extent that humans continue to consume this, will come from the seas. One reason is the growth potential in coastal environments and new technologies for using freshwater systems to grow fish. Another reason is farming seafood is a far less greenhouse gasintensive production technology than having terrestrial livestock —
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