Ocean Equity Research is a collective of experts studying and advising on how to manage human interaction with our oceans in a way that achieves the most desirable outcomes for all.
Ocean Equity Research sits at the intersection between science, policy, law and development studies, and focuses on how we can manage human interaction with our marine environment to achieve equitable outcomes in transboundary ocean conservation, management and development. We are a collective of experts passionate about reshaping the way global society relates to and looks after its oceans to achieve the most desirable outcomes for all.
The Fisheries Governance Program orients research towards supporting practical management and policy outcomes for fisheries on global, regional and national levels, engaging with coastal communities, government agencies, regional and international organisations, civil society organisations, academia and industry.
The health of the ocean is vital for the functioning of the planet and humans have used the ocean and its resources for centuries for navigation, trade and food security. Overexploitation and pollution put marine ecosystems at risk and marine conservation seeks to counter environmental threats, caused by human activities.
The Seabed Mining Program focuses on the regulatory and governance framework for an emerging ocean industry: mining the deep seabed for minerals, such as copper and manganese. This emerging industry raises several equity questions, including who stands to benefit, who would shoulder the environmental, social, cultural, and economic burdens, and who gets a say in the decision-making around seabed mining.
The Sustainable and equitable conservation, management and development of our oceans depends on more than just science-based decision-making. It fundamentally depends on effective cooperation between sovereign States and their subsequent implementation of conservation and management decisions.
Ocean activities are regulated under a complex ocean governance framework, dividing responsibility over geographical areas and sectors among different actors. Within a region of 200 nautical miles from the coast, coastal states have jurisdiction over their waters, while areas beyond this limit are to be governed internationally, among all United Nations member states.
Human-caused climate change is causing significant impacts, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities and developing States who have historically contributed the least. The ocean is the largest thermal sink for climate warming, already warming to below 2000m in depth, with resulting ocean acidification, marine heatwaves, de-oxygenation and flow on impacts on marine biodiversity and fisheries.
The members of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) met from the 13th to the 17th of May 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand, for the 28th Session of the Commission. Bianca Haas, Constance Rambourg and Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki reflect on what their time at the meeting, and what happened there.
Coastal states have compared themselves to owners of orchards from which DWFNs have been allowed to pick the apples. This argument implies that at no point does the party coming to pick the apple own the land, the trees and the apples (or the ecosystem, the fishery and the fish stock). Until the apple is picked (or the fish is caught), the holder of the access right only owns the opportunity to pick the apple (extract the fish), and even then only on a temporary and time-limited basis…
Bianca Haas, Kamal Azmi, Hussain Sinan, and Quentin Hanich have developed an innovative approach that would support members of tuna regional fisheries management organisations (tRMFOs) to reduce placing a disproportionate burden on developing state members.
Our team includes extensive experience in government and international fora, with decades of experience representing governments at regional fisheries management organisations.
We have analysed strategic interests, advised on conservation and management options and strategies, facilitated and prepared national and regional briefs for developed and developing State governments, and facilitated and chaired international negotiations.