| Abstract: |
The ocean covers nearly 71% of Earth's surface and provides indispensable ecosystem services including food security, climate regulation, livelihood support, and biodiversity reservoirs. However, marine resources today face unprecedented anthropogenic pressures from overfishing, plastic pollution, habitat degradation, and climate-induced warming. This paper examines the ecological dimensions of sustainable marine resource management through a critical evaluation of recent global and Indian datasets up to 2025. The objectives are to assess the present status of marine ecological health and to evaluate the effectiveness of governance instruments such as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and the Blue Transformation framework. Adopting a descriptive secondary research design, the study synthesises authoritative datasets from FAO, UNEP-WCMC, IUCN, IPBES, and ICAR-CMFRI. Findings reveal that only 62.3% of marine fish stocks remain biologically sustainable, MPA coverage has just crossed 10%, and 44% of reef-building corals face extinction risk. India's marine landings declined to 3.47 million tonnes in 2024. The discussion underscores the urgent need for ecosystem-based management, expanded MPA networks, and integrated science-policy interfaces. The paper concludes that ecological sustainability of marine resources demands coordinated governance, community participation, and rapid emission reductions. |
