The Ocean as an Economic Resource in an Economy - Research Paper Example

The Possible Uses of Common Property (Ocean Resource) To Address The Common Problems An ocean is a natural resource that is of great economic importance to the persons who have access to it. Oceans address common problems such as unemployment, price stability and inflation. This is achieved through activities such as tourism, extraction of minerals in the offshores, fishing, transportation and other recreational activities. Oceans are a source of food to many people and also a means of transport to people travelling from one place to another and also from one country to another (Charlier & Gordon 2007). The ocean as an economic resource has played a great role in reducing the levels of unemployment in an economy. There are many types of fish found in the ocean thus making the ocean a source of food to a huge number of people. Fishing industry has extensively grown due to a lot of competition. However, individuals engage in fishing as a way of getting their food and others do fishing as a source of their revenue. For those people who engage in fishing for food are just do it for consumption purposes. However, for those people who engage in fishing activities for commercial purposes are industrial fisheries. Therefore in connection with the problem of unemployment is partially solved through the act of fishing. There are both skilled and unskilled persons employed in the fish industries that arise from the existence of the oceans. Therefore, fishing is a factor that leads to decrease in unemployment levels ((Acheson 1975). As a means of transport, oceans are a medium of transport by the use of boats and ships. This marine industry is a source of employment to a big number of people. Some people are self-employed while others get work in the harbors and others in the ships. Therefore, marine transport helps in reducing the levels of unemployment since quit e a big number of people get employed in the marine transport related sectors. Also, for the business persons involved in the business, they increase the level of tax income in a country and this revenue if used in carrying out a profitable project, and then other people get employed. Hence, marine transportation reduces unemployment both directly and indirectly. The ocean is a site for recreational activities for people during their leisure time. It has led to the coming up of the tourism industry. Many hotels have come up along the beaches of the oceans. Many people love having fun in different countries that have beautiful sites along the beach and a favorable weather condition. This is a source of employment for many persons either directly or indirectly. Some people get jobs in the tourist hotels while others get good business opportunities to supply commodities in these hotels while other get a ready market for their goods directly to the tourist who visit the attractive places along the beaches. Therefore, through the creation of the tourist industry which results from the oceans, many jobs and business opportunities arise resulting to a reduction of the unemployment levels in an economy (Scott & Christy 2004) In addressing inflation problem which is a global problem in most economies, ocean water is a medium of transport through the use of boats and ships. Shipping of commodities from one place to another or from one country to another has been enhanced by the ocean water. Many investors are in a position to either export or import commodities to and from other countries. In a good deal, an investor is likely to export commodities that fetch higher sales in another country and import items that re selling at lower prices in another country. Therefore, when one imports cheaper commodities this reduces the level of inflation since the stability of prices remains without inflicting any inflation effects (Scott & Christy 2004). Despite all the benefits arising from the ocean as an economic resource, there are a few problems that arise from its economic use such as over exploitation. As well known that an ocean is a natural resource and a free good whereby everyone is entitled to use it, some problems arise as it tries to solve some of the common problems. For example, overexploitation by the fisheries is one of the negative effects that arise for the fishing industries. Most fishermen tend to overexploit the ocean because there are no regulations that govern the extent at which the ocean should be used. People engaged in mining activities along the offshores of the ocean may cause a serious problem to the other industries. For example, if the people mining use chemicals and dispose the chemicals to the water, then may cause deaths to the fish and some other fish to move far away from the shores of the ocean. Therefore, the people in the fishing industry may tend to go deeper in the ocean and this may increase the cost of undertaking of their activity which is fishing (Acheson 1975). Different fishing firms tend to behave in a more predatory manner due to the competition in the industry. This causes them to exploit the resource and fail to conserve the resource. As a result of the failure to conserve the ocean, this forces the fishermen to use more capital in buying more complex fishing machines that can catch more fish as fast as possible (Acheson 1975). This problem results from the fact that an ocean is a free good and individuals have all the rights to use it as they wish because there are no set rules and regulations to govern the extent at which the resource should be used. Therefore as far as the ocean solves problems such as unemployment, then if one cannot manage to raise enough capital to buy a superior fishing equipment then the fisherman might end up being unemployed. In conclusion, ocean as a free economic resource has addressed the issue of unemployment very well since many jobs have been created and also self-employment. This has greatly helped in reducing the levels of unemployment and also reducing the level of inflation since the supply of food is well regulated and the availability of the fish is very high due to the overexploitation by the individuals. Work cited Acheson, James M. The Lobster Fiefs: Economic and Ecological Effects of Territoriality in the Maine Lobster Industry. New York: Plenum Pub. Corp, 1975. Print Charlier, Roger H, and Bernard L. Gordon. Ocean Resources: An Introduction to Economic Oceanography. Washington, D.C: University Press of America, 2007. Christy, Francis T, and Anthony Scott. The Common Wealth in Ocean Fisheries: Some Problems of Growth and Economic Allocation. Baltimore: Published for Resources for the Future by the Johns Hopkins Press, 2004. Print. Read More