Health of the Ocean

Abstract

Serious attention to ocean health started after the Second World War, as an era of economic recovery, industrial growth, and prosperity began in many developed countries. Large oil tankers plied the sea. Occasional but severe accidents caused huge, highly visible spills. The impact of oil pollution along coastlines and on fishery species appeared on the radar of politicians and coastal inhabitants. Ocean health showed signs of being compromised and awareness for the welfare of both people and ocean dwelling species began to surface. The newly formed United Nations reacted with conventions and regulations to curb such pollution. In the 1960s and early 1970s, as environmentalism blossomed, concerns about the oceans expanded to include many industrial effluents and chemicals, ocean dredging materials, land-based pollution of many other kinds (e.g., riverine sediments), and radioactivity. Elisabeth Mann Borgese, to whom this essay is dedicated, recognized the need for ocean protection in her various writings and diplomatic initiatives. Endorsed in 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (unclos) Part xii emphasized marine environmental protection.1 Many countries continued to enact environmental legislation, addressing marine pollution, especially from shipping and landbased activities.2 During this early era of environmentalism, the governmental and intergovernmental response to marine pollution was significant.3 It was accepted that an understanding of ocean health is a critical underpinning of effective ocean governance and sustainability. The science of marine ecotoxicology