Expert: 'The blue economy needs a healthy ocean'

The sentiment was shared about the untapped economic potential of the ocean and its resources along the coast.

Conservation strategist at the South African Association for Marine Biology Research Judy Mann says initiatives to preserve and protect oceans along the KwaZulu-Natal coast will help grow the blue economy is a sustainable way.

“Last year we had new marine protected areas being proclaimed, so around our whole coast - up to 200 nautical miles - is all actually South African territory. It is an area that we are the custodians of,” Mann says, “And a lot of that has been allocated to oil and gas for prospecting but we do have now a number of marine protected areas - which are similar to the Kruger National Parks, but in the ocean - so we can actually protect that space. And in that, that is important for food protection, it is important for climate change resilience”.