What are ocean accounts?
Ocean accounts provide a standardized framework for organizing environmental, economic, and social data related to the ocean. They integrate comparable information on the extent and condition of marine ecosystems, associated economic activities, and social dynamics, enabling more informed measurement, management, and decision-making to support the sustainable use of ocean resources.
Ocean accounts are a powerful tool that helps us make evidence-based decisions about how we monitor, govern and manage the ocean. The Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) has created a standardised framework, which builds on concepts from the System of Environmental Economic Accounts. This framework allows us to track changes in marine ecosystems and how these changes affect economic activity and social conditions with the goal of informing policy towards sustainable management of marine resources and development.
Why Do Ocean Accounts Matter?
Ocean accounts are important because they shine a light on the often-hidden connections between the ocean, our society, and the economy. For instance, in addition to monitoring how ocean ecosystems change over time they help us track how seagrass meadows store carbon and support local tourism, or how marine industries contribute to national economies. By showing both the benefits we get from the ocean and the pressures we put on it, these accounts support better decision-making for sustainable development and management of ocean resources.
Ocean accounts are vital for every part of the ocean, from coastal ecosystems that support fisheries and protect our shorelines, to the open ocean that regulates our climate and provides essential resources. Ocean accounts integrate with research areas like ecosystem services, climate change, biodiversity monitoring, environmental economics, and social oceanography. Working together, these fields give us a holistic view of just how crucial the ocean is for sustaining life on our planet, highlighting how essential it is that we sustainably manage our ocean resources.
How does having a standard help internationally?
Having a standardised approach makes it easier for countries to measure and manage their ocean resources and also compare data and work together to meet global commitments like the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The GOAP framework is designed to look beyond GDP by integrating social data as well. We're proud to say that NOC is a member of GOAP.
Impact of Marine Accounting
Ocean accounts enable monitoring of the health of marine ecosystems and changes in ocean wealth. They reveal the size and conditions of marine environments, how they’re changing over time, and how this affects the ecosystem services and flows to the economy. These trends reveal our connections with the ocean, how we interact with it through economic activity, socially, and for livelihoods.
Ocean accounts systematically measure the flow of ecosystem services from marine environments. Ecosystem services include regulating services which are the benefits provided by ecosystems processes that moderate natural phenomena such as climate change. Ocean accounts highlight the value of marine ecosystems as carbon sinks, their role in coastal protection and erosion, as well as nutrient cycling and water purification. They help assess how these ocean ecosystem services are threatened by a changing climate and the associated economic costs of these changes.
These accounts highlight the clear links between healthy marine ecosystems and our livelihoods, from fisheries and tourism to coastal protection. They also show how the degradation of the ocean threatens jobs, food security, and even our cultural identities.
Our research
Here at NOC, our scientists are pushing ocean accounting research forward by developing new methods that will help guide others who are putting these accounts together. NOC scientists have also created the first UK seagrass extent account.
Ocean accounts are already being used at various scales, from pilot studies on local marine environments to national accounts. Some pilot studies focus on a single marine ecosystem type. For example, through Project ReSOW, NOC scientists compiled an extent and carbon account for seagrass meadows around the UK. This is helping to support decision-making around the protection and restoration of these vital habitats. By using natural capital approaches, these accounts translate the services provided by seagrass, such as carbon sequestration and coastal protection, into clear benefits for both society and the economy. Ocean accounts are more than just numbers in a table and can also be presented through collection of maps, online interactive tools and dashboards. For example, one can explore the ecosystem extent and carbon ocean account created within Project ReSOW through the project’s Coastal Ecosystem Enhancement Decision Support or CEEDS tool.
Yes, our scientists are also involved in developing social accounts. The goal is to integrate social, cultural, and equity data into ocean accounts to ensure these factors are included in ocean decision-making. In fact, NOC scientist Sara Driscoll is a co-author on the recent and first peer-reviewed publication exploring the topic of integrating social accounts into ocean accounts. You can check out this open access research here - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901125002370?via%3Dihub
Research in ocean accounts connects many teams within NOC and with our external partners. NOC plays an active role in the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership, a global network of research, government, and private sector organizations working collaboratively to advance ocean accounting. Through this collaboration, ocean accounting is developed as part of a wider international effort to ensure the diverse environmental, economic, and social values of the ocean are represented in decision making, supporting sustainable development and responsible management of ocean resources.
The CEEDS Tool brings together all data and reports from the project in a manner that is accessible and can be explored spatially, aligning with the needs and priorities of our community.
CEEDS toolSharing our knowledge
We're active on the global stage. For example, in 2024, NOC scientist Sara Driscoll hosted the side event 'Blue carbon ecosystem and ocean accounts' at the 5th Global Ocean Dialogue in Bali, Indonesia and has since been an active member in GOAP and its international working group on social accounts.
Interested in learning more about ocean accounting or how NOC is developing frameworks for measuring marine wealth and wellbeing?
Connect with our research teams to explore how standardised accounts support sustainable ocean management.