Research and innovation cooperation in the South Atlantic Ocean

The ocean provides a diversity of services, which range from food, minerals, energy and transportation to biodiversity and cultural services such as tourism and heritage.Achieving a balance between harnessing these services to support social and economic development and protecting the resource base remains a challenge.For example, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that the percentage of stocks fished at biologically unsustainable levels increased from 10% in 1974 to 33% in 2015. 1 According to the Ocean Health Index, natural products, coastal protection and carbon storage at a global level all saw steady declines between 2012 and 2016.