Corporate Ocean Responsibility and Its Importance to the Marine Industry

Marine industry is a major part of any nation’s entire economic growth and development. With its substantial contribution, it is no surprise that a lot of effort goes into exploring the financial potential of this particular industry. However, similar to every other sector that has faced commercialization, aftermath of human intervention is now evident in seaways too.

Due to excessive human presence in the way marine life works, there have been a lot of changes. This is the effect of corporate ventures on the water bodies of the entire world that has made a significant change in their overall functioning. And sadly, not all of these changes are good. This calls for corporate environment responsibility that the marine companies have towards saving the natural environment they disturb in anyway.

Marine industry at present comprises of over 150 businesses ranging from gas and oil extraction to shipping. Mining, aquaculture, fishing, hydroelectric power generation are only a few of the many business that are dependent on waters of the world.

The extents to which these businesses contribute to their nations’ growth are proportionate to the damage they cause to the environment. As such, in a recent awareness about corporate ocean responsibility, the World Ocean council has been set up. This is one body that holds every marine industrialist accountable for their corporate responsibility towards saving marine environment. This council sets rules and regulations that must be followed by everyone with a venture in marine industry.

Safe disposal of their wastes to prevent seawaters being used as a dump to over exploitation of resources- all this and much more is being taken care of by WOC. They work with the central motive of stirring corporate responsibility in everyone from stakeholders to seafarers and even general public who is mostly just oblivious to damage being done to the marine life on a regular basis.

The aim of this council is to maintain a sustainable ocean resource pool that can be explored for many years to come while being considerate towards the marine life that get excessively damaged.

From loss of natural shorelines during construction of dams to extinction of rare coral species, danger to marine fauna and integrity of aquatic life as a whole, the implications of damage caused by human intervention are huge. One oil spill can single handedly destroy the entire ecosystem of a region. This calls for an imminent need of awakening people to their corporate ocean responsibility.

However, seafarers are not drawn to their corporate ocean responsibility alone. It is the status of entire marine industry that can be put in jeopardy if the delicate balance of marine life is disturbed. Already owing to excessive human exploration, several precious marine sites have been reduced to nothing but mere hollow shadows of their glorious pasts.

A lot of sites that have been used for fishing and mining have damaged the aquatic flora and fauna beyond point of restoration. This makes sustainability of such industries difficult. Therefore, it is important that all people involved in marine industry understand their corporate environment responsibility not for sake of environment alone but for economic implications as well.

Already a lot of work has been done in regard to stirring a sense of corporate responsibility in the marine environment. It’s a pleasant knowledge that with guidelines from government and initiative of people, positive changes are being made. The latest summit held by World Ocean Council and attended by many, is an example of seafarers and maritime professionals of the entire world coming together united by their corporate responsibility towards marine life and their economic responsibility towards the marine industry.

References: oceancouncil, ocean-news, globalpolicyjournal

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