The importance of the Oceans to humankind’s continued existence is something we are all becoming increasingly aware of. With awareness comes both opportunity and challenge. There is on the one hand enormous opportunity for prosperity through economic exploitation and on the other the risk of boundless consumption, impact on climate and misuse. 

The Oceans are vast yet so little is really known about the impact we humans have on them and the marine life that inhabits them, and the impact they have on us. This is even more pronounced when we think about the deep ocean and seabed. In order to truly think about, and in turn understand, the impact of the Blue economy whether that be aquaculture or deep sea mining, or anything thing else we might do in the Oceans the one necessity is high quality dense data and information. Specifically we need information, gathered in a sustainable technology driven way, that can play a major role in deepening our understanding of, and connection with, the ocean and ultimately informing our decisions about how we interact, what we exploit and how we look after the oceans. 

Technology will not only contribute to expanding our knowledge of the ocean but will play a significant role in answering the many questions we have about successfully managing the development of the blue economy. To truly deliver on that promise, private enterprise should actively engage and work closely with academia and non-governmental organisations openly and collaboratively to work together to answer those questions for the benefit of all.