Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Making marine biotechnology work for people and nature

Nature Ecology & Evolution (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Transforming the rapidly growing ocean economy into a ‘blue economy’ based on principles of sustainability, equity and inclusivity is crucial. We contend that marine biotechnology is not on this trajectory and that a more holistic approach for people and nature is needed to bring marine biotechnology into the blue economy.

The ocean economy encompasses economic sectors as diverse as shipping, tourism and aquaculture, with a collective export value estimated at US $2.5 trillion. Its global scale and rapid growth have triggered concerns because the benefits remain heavily concentrated within a handful of countries and companies while degradation of ocean ecosystems affects all1. This reality has spurred growing calls to transform the ocean economy into a ‘blue economy’, one that ensures ocean sectors are aligned with principles of sustainability, equity and inclusivity2.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Commercialization of marine genetic resources.

a, R Kawka/Alamy Stock Photo; b, Lori Johnston, NOAA, public domain; c, Pauline Walsh Jacobson, CCBY 4.0; d, CC0 public domain.

Fig. 2: Marine biotechnology and conservation.

References

  1. Virdin, J. et al. Sci. Adv. 7, eabc8041 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Satizábal, P., Dressler, W. H., Fabinyi, M. & Pido, M. D. Marit. Stud. 19, 207–221 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Blasiak, R. et al. Nat. Sustain. 3, 588–596 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Claudet, J., Amon, D. J. & Blasiak, R. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 118, e2117033118 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Blasiak, R., Jouffray, J.-B., Wabnitz, C. C. C., Sundström, E. & Österblom, H. Sci. Adv. 4, eaar5237 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Wynberg, R. & Laird, S. A. Trends Biotechnol. 36, 1–3 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Stuchtey, M. et al. Ocean Solutions That Benefit People, Nature and the Economy, https://oceanpanel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/full-report-ocean-solutions-eng.pdf (High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, 2020).

  8. OECD. The SDG Financing Lab. https://sdg-financing-lab.oecd.org/explore (2022).

  9. Blasiak, R., Jouffray, J.-B., Wabnitz, C. C. C. & Österblom, H. Trends Ecol. Evol. 34, 392–395 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Tolochko, P. & Vadrot, A. B. M. Environ. Sci. Policy 126, 79–89 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Faure, M. C., Munung, N. S., Ntusi, N. A. B., Pratt, B. & de Vries, J. Int. J. Equity Health 20, 28 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Anonymous. Nature 606, 7 (2022).

  13. Muller-Karger, F. E. et al. ICES J. Mar. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsac084 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Blasiak, R. Nat. Biotechnol. 37, 357–358 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Carroll, S. R. et al. Data Sci. J. 19, 43 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. van de Water, J. A., Tignat-Perrier, R., Allemand, D. & Ferrier-Pagès, C. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 74, 110–121 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Sigwart, J. D., Blasiak, R., Jaspars, M., Jouffray, J.-B. & Tasdemir, D. Nat. Prod. Rep. 38, 1235–1242 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Yang, D. Strain capable of efficiently removing inorganic phosphorus in water bodies and application of strain. China patent CN110643554 (2020).

  19. Strandwitz, P. & Lewis, K. Modulation of the gut microbiome to treat mental disorders or diseases of the central nervous system. US patent US20220040242 (2022).

Download references

Acknowledgements

R.B., A.P. and E.Z. are funded by FORMAS, project number 2020-01048. A.P. is funded by FORMAS, project number 2019-01220.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Robert Blasiak, Jean-Baptiste Jouffray, Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, Agnes Pranindita, Erik Zhivkoplias & Henrik Österblom

  2. Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Robert Blasiak & Henrik Österblom

  3. SpeSeas, D’Abadie, Trinidad and Tobago

    Diva J. Amon

  4. Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Diva J. Amon

  5. National Center for Scientific Research, PSL Université Paris, CRIOBE, CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Paris, France

    Joachim Claudet

  6. Research Platform Governance of Digital Practices, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Paul Dunshirn

  7. The Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Academy Program, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm, Sweden

    Peter Søgaard Jørgensen

  8. Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Agnes Pranindita

  9. Stanford Centre for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Colette C. C. Wabnitz

  10. Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Colette C. C. Wabnitz

  11. South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies, Maldonado, Uruguay

    Henrik Österblom

Authors
  1. Robert Blasiak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jean-Baptiste Jouffray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Diva J. Amon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Joachim Claudet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Paul Dunshirn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Peter Søgaard Jørgensen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Agnes Pranindita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Colette C. C. Wabnitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Erik Zhivkoplias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Henrik Österblom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert Blasiak.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary methods for identifying patent sequences from marine species and IUCN Red List classification

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Blasiak, R., Jouffray, JB., Amon, D.J. et al. Making marine biotechnology work for people and nature. Nat Ecol Evol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01976-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01976-9

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing