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Assignment Ocean Economy
Assignment Ocean Economy
The Ocean Economy is bound to become a pillar of our economy. The Sugar Protocol has for
long been a blessing for our rainbow nation, Mauritius- Island of Paradise. Through its
preferential quota with the European Union, Mauritius has been able to distinguish itself from
the remaining African countries and become one of the most successful economies of the
Region. Thanks to the sugar Protocol, in any case, as it allowed Mauritius to derive revenue
which would then be directed to other sectors in order to diversify the economy. The time has
come now to look into the future and plan the economy otherwise and the Ocean hub is in
line with this philosophy.
The EEZ and the Continental shelf. Richness and extent of our Ocean Rights
The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Mauritius extends over an area of
about 2.3 million Km (including approx. 400,000 Km jointly managed with the Seychelles)
and this makes Mauritius the 20th country in the world with the largest EEZ.
The Mauritian Exclusive Economic Zone was significantly expanded to 1.9 million square
kilometers following the adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), every coastal
nation has a certain portion of the sea called the EEZ over which it has exclusive rights with
regards to environment protection, fish stocks, exploration of mineral resources like oil, gas
and metals, etc.
The co-management of 396 000 square kilometers of the continental shelf, with the Republic
of Seychelles, enables us, henceforth, to rank among the largest economic territories in the
world with a total EEZ area of 2.3 million square kilometers. The 2.3 million Km of
exploitable marine resources does not only provide Mauritius with a huge maritime zone to
manage but also holds a massive potential for development that can change significantly the
shape of the economy.
The exercise of its rights over the EEZ and Continental Shelf means that the country will
have access to potentially vast natural and mineral resources in years to come.
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This economic potential covers the exploitation of living and non-living resources in the
Mauritius waters, on the seabed and in the subsoil. The development of the Ocean Economy
will have significant positive impact on other industries including land and sea transportation,
cargo and port services. The governments aim is to make the Ocean Economy one of the
most important future contributors of GDP.
Ambitious and innovative ocean-related projects will be initiated in the light of research to be
undertaken, capacity to be built and technologies to be adopted. We are deploying every
effort and muster all our resources, energies and human capital to harness the wealth of our
ocean
Already, the ocean territory contributes significantly to the wealth of Mauritius. The GDP
share has been estimated at 10.8 per cent in 2012, with a value addition of MUR 32.5 billion,
of which over 90 per cent currently comes from three established sectors coastal tourism
and marine leisure, seaport-related activities and seafood-related activities where significant
scope for future growth exists.
As The Hon.Prime Minister voiced it out during the last Conference on the Ocean Economy
held last year, Mauritius will be will be literally embarking on uncharted waters and strategies
may have to be reconsidered as unforeseen challenges crop up. He further added, The
sustainable development and growth of our ocean wealth will be supported by coherent
planning, policies and regulatory frameworks in an integrated manner.
BENEFITS OF OCEAN ECONOMY
Based on the above, seven clusters of activity have been identified as possible priority areas,
namely
1.Seabed Exploration for Hydrocarbon & Minerals;
2.Fishing, Seafood Processing and Aquaculture;
3.Deep Ocean Water Applications (DOWA ),
4.Marine Services;
5.Seaport-related Activities;
6.Marine Renewable Energies
7.Ocean Knowledge.
We are going to focus on the seven clusters to illustrate the benefits of the Ocean Economy
and while going through, we shall enumerate their respective legal implications in order that
these benefits may be further exploited and optimised.
The seafood processing hub, along with aquaculture, should be amajor component of ocean
activities and play a central role in export diversification and the consolidation of food
security. Seaweed, oyster and oyster pearl cultures have also been successfully trialled and
represent high economic potential. The fisheries and seafood processing sector represented
18.7 per cent of total exports in 2012
In 2013, total output for fishing, seafood processing and aquaculture is estimated at
178,500 tonnes representing revenue worth MUR 15.75 billion. Total employment
amounts to 12,150 jobs.
Revenue in the sector is expected to increase at an average growth rate of 5 per cent
per year. The main activities in the sector are expected to grow as follows.
As regards aquaculture, The present production will increase from 500 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes
by 2015 and 8,000 tonnes by 2020.
Legal Implication :
1. Review of existing legislations to accommodate new activities such as seaweed, oyster and
Pearl cultures.
2. Re-inforcing Maritime Surveillance to cambat IUU fishing and fight Piracy with the
collaboration of regional and international institutions
3. Devising and implementing a legal ecosystem approach with regard to resource
exploitation
4. Marine Services
The Ocean Economy should serve as a major platform for playing out our efforts to make of
Mauritius a high value-added services economy, by harbouring a regional platform for marine
finance, ICT and ship registration based on successful country models. While the array of
professional services that use or support the ocean are vast, this section looks at prominent
ones such as marine-based tourism and leisure activities,marine ICT, marine finance, ship
registry and marine biotechnology.
Emerging marine-based leisure activities have significantly increased over the years and
they currently contribute nearly MUR 1.26 billion to the national economy with employment
estimated at 2,800 jobs. Mauritius has the potential to emerge as a centre for ocean
technologies by leveraging the technical skills and ICT infrastructure available locally to
support the development of the Ocean Economy and provide services for export.
With new activities to be developed, this is projected to increase to MUR 1.84 billion by
2015 and attract private sector investments of MUR 4.3 billion. By 2020, a marina
development, a marine park and thalassotherapy centres should create above 700 new jobs
and private sector investments of approximately MUR 1.6 billion. The long-term potential of
this sub-sector is estimated at MUR 5.2 billion supported by the expansion of new activities.
As regards Marina development Mauritius is strategically positioned to capture part of the
high-end nautical tourism market through marina development. A chain of 7 marinas in
Mauritius can be developed with immediate opportunities for a city marina and a marina
village at Vieux Grand-Port.
Marine Finance- The financial services sector accounts for over 10 per cent of GDP (2012).
The sector currently comprises major players in banking, insurance, capital markets, fund
administration and management, international legal services, brokerage houses, wealth
management and investment advisory services. It directly employs some 12,000 highly
skilled professionals.
Legal implications and regulations:
Guidelines for:
sea-angling equipment and material
Non-motorised sailing craft operations, towing
Operation of glass Bottom and Whale/dolphin watching boats ans sea Karting .
System of Allocation for preservation of diving spots
Tracking Marine financial activity
Modernising the insurance legislation for marine covers.
Consolidation of the Law Pertaining to ship registration.
5. Seaport-Related Activities
To develop Mauritius into a major hub in the region for petroleum products,
container transhipment and port services.
Strategically located at the crossroads of Asian and African sea routes, the Seaport of
Mauritius contributes about 2 per cent to the countrys GDP and supports 99 per cent
of the countrys external trade. With increased south-south trade, Port-Louis Harbour
will be called to play a major role in the region.
In 2011, the Seaport handled some 231,168 transshipment containers (TEUs) which
increased to 316, 608 TEUs in 2012, an increase of 37 per cent. The direct revenue
to MPA & CHCL from transhipment activities is around MUR 300 million for 2012.
Transhipment traffic throughput is expected to increase by about 9 per cent annually to