OceAn science OceAn science OceAn science

Research Priority 4: Apply advanced understanding and technologies to
enhance the benefits of various natural resources from the open ocean,
coasts, and Great Lakes.
Key technological developments are required to facilitate long-term and effective resource
management; to make more responsible use of available sustainable and non-sustainable
resources, such as energy, minerals (including sand), and pharmaceuticals; and to support
alternatives to resource extraction (e.g., aquaculture, alternative energy sources), in conjunction
with efforts to enhance the efficacy of and limit impacts from marine operations.
Areas of focus include, but are not limited to: development of sustainable approaches to
aquaculture that consider implications for surrounding ecosystems, wild genetic resources,
and impacts on coastal economies; advancement of new sustainable energy technologies
from the ocean, including efficient methods for power generation (e.g., wind and tidal
power), and scientific information to fully consider impacts on marine life; development
of new generations of military subsurface detection systems or other mitigation methods
that are less deleterious to species sensitive to acoustic emissions in certain sound ranges;
development of bycatch-reduction technologies for fisheries and protected resources (e.g.,
seabirds), enabling sustainable resource use; and use of advances in exploration technologies
(e.g., geospatial, biooptical) to map and characterize the EEZ and the U.S. continental
shelf, to establish the outer limits of the U.S. continental shelf where it extends beyond
the limits of the EEZ, and to assess its important ecological and economic resources.
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