A major report looking at the future of the sea has set out the opportunities available for the UK to capitalise on its existing strengths in research, technology and the diversity of ocean industries.

The report Foresight Future of the Sea, published by the Government Office for Science identifies 4 major areas that can deliver opportunities for the UK by exploiting its science and innovation:

• an improved understanding of the sea
• greater co-ordination
• a long-term approach to decision making
• the increasing global nature of challenges faced

The report says that autonomous vessels, robotics and other emerging technologies will allow the observation and mapping of previously unexplored areas of the sea and improve understanding of the marine environment, creating a new generation of economic activity.

According to the report, current ‘sea blindness’ shows a widespread lack of understanding of the sea and its value - the seabed is less mapped than the surface of Mars. The consequence of this is an increased risk of policy makers, industry and the public underestimating the opportunities from the sea, and the implications of damaging its environment.

The increase in potential from autonomous vehicles means that areas such as data transfer, sensing, communication technology and improved data transfer between autonomous vehicles and satellites, will be of growing importance across the marine economy.

With many opportunities for closer collaboration to achieve greater marine exploration, protection and economic output, a long-term approach to decision making is important from both an economic and environmental perspective.

Professor Chris Whitty, Interim Chief Government Scientific Adviser said:

“Our Foresight projects have an excellent reputation for tackling big strategic issues, and the Foresight ‘Future of the Sea’ project report is no different. This report highlights the key challenges and opportunities a changing ocean offers the UK based on extensive scientific evidence gathering.”

Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister Lord Ahmad said the UK is “rightly recognised as a world leader” in the marine and maritime fields and that both the opportunities and the challenges set out in this important report are global in scale and demand urgent attention.

Professor Ed Hill, Executive Director of the National Oceanography Centre, added that marine science is a real UK strength and the country is currently third in the world for the number of marine science publications.

The report outlines a number of recommendations to help the UK utilise its current expertise and technological strengths to foster trade links, build marine capacity across the world and collaborate to tackle climate change.

The report has set out a raft of key recommendations, including:

• Identify and work with key sectors to create a long-term platform for UK businesses to capitalise on growing global opportunities for goods and services.
• Capitalise on the significant potential of the offshore renewable energy sector, building on and learning from the UK’s experience in offshore wind.
• Support mechanisms to address insufficient join up between the diverse sectors of the marine economy around common research, infrastructure and skills needs.
• Better capitalise on the UK’s science, technology and engineering base
• Reduce plastic pollution in the sea, which is projected to treble in a decade without further intervention.
• Develop accurate and useful valuations of the marine environment through the goods and services it provides.
• Ensure that, when the UK leaves the EU, any new regulation is robust for the long-term challenges and opportunities in the sea.
• Lead the development of new regulation for emerging industries and technologies such as autonomous vehicles and deep-sea mining.
• Ensure scientific activity is joined up and positions itself to deliver UK priorities.
• Enable big data to be a driver of innovation, including ensuring that the UK has the necessary storage capacity, analytical skills, and coordination between sectors and within
• Government.

Click here to dowload the ful report Foresight Future of the Sea