{"id":183515,"date":"2024-03-04T10:53:19","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T15:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/?page_id=183515"},"modified":"2025-10-31T10:24:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T14:24:25","slug":"blue_economy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/blue_economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Research: Blue Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research | Blue Economy<\/h1><\/div><\/div>
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Apply site-wide<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n
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How can Rhode Island invest in its blue economy as a means to grow sustainably?<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rhode Island has always supported and benefited from its blue economy and marine-based businesses that rely on the state\u2019s considerable coastal and ocean resources. Today, this $5 billion-plus economy employs more than 6% of Rhode Islanders across seven sectors. The future of a sustainable blue economy depends on a rich quality of place, the protection and management of resilient coastal and ocean assets, a skilled workforce and thriving innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the News<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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CRC & RISG host aquaculture course<\/h2>

URI’s inaugural course, \u201cBeyond the Basics for Businesses and Practitioners,\u201d has drawn a diverse crowd from across the globe. Its 65 participants hail from 15 coastal states and 10 different countries.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Knowledge Sharing<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Building a one-stop shop weather forecast for the ocean<\/h2>

Current Lab, a start-up launched by GSO alum Kevin Rosa, Ph.D. \u201820, provides detailed ocean forecasts, redefining what’s possible for oceanographic data.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

the boston globe<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The value of Rhode Island’s Blue Economy<\/h2>

GSO is committed to working with partners to implement the strategies and actions described in this report towards the development of a robust blue economy.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Read the report<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n
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Blue Economy Research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Name<\/th>Leaders<\/th>Themes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Coastal Resources Center<\/a><\/td>JP Walsh
Jennifer McCan
Elin Torrell<\/td>		(CRC) helps communities become more effective stewards of their coastal\/marine resources by partnering with stakeholders to apply science and find solutions to societal issues<\/td><\/tr>
Rhode Island Sea Grant<\/a><\/td>Tracey Dalton<\/td>One of 34 programs in the National Sea Grant College Program working to enhance environmental stewardship and long-term economic development and responsible use of coastal and marine resources.<\/td><\/tr>
Coastal Institute<\/a><\/td>Elin Torrell<\/td>The CI supports the growth of multi- and interdisciplinary coastal ecosystem research, discourse, and policy engagement at URI.<\/td><\/tr>
NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute<\/a><\/td>Adam Soule<\/td>RI is the lead institution of the OECI, which develops new ocean technologies to explore the vast, underexplored regions of the ocean.<\/td><\/tr>
Marine Ecosystems Research LaboratoryA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute<\/a><\/td>Candace Oviatt<\/td>MERL has several current research projects focusing on climate change, primary production, and organism metabolism within Narragansett Bay.<\/td><\/tr>
Fish<\/a> <\/a>Trawl Survey<\/a><\/td>Jeremy Collie<\/td>With over 63 years of data, the GSO Fish Trawl Survey is one of the longest continuous records of fish and invertebrate relative abundance in the world.<\/td><\/tr>
The Narragansett Bay Long-Term Plankton Time Series<\/a><\/td>Tatiana Rynearson<\/td>Beginning in 1957, weekly samples have been collected to assess the phytoplankton community and characterize the physical parameters of Narragansett Bay, making it one of the world\u2019s longest-running plankton surveys.<\/td><\/tr>
Ocean Robotics Program<\/a><\/td>Multiple<\/td>Faculty from both GSO and Ocean Engineering are using and developing robotic platforms for marine environments ranging from shallow coastlines to the deepest parts of the world\u2019s ocean.<\/td><\/tr>
Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Institute<\/a><\/td>GSO
RIDEM
CELS<\/td>		Research led by the RIDEM, GSO and CELS, with additional collaboration, cooperation and\/or input from the fishing community, non-government organizations, and additional academic institutes that informs fisheries management.<\/td><\/tr>
Ocean Carbon Lab<\/a><\/td>Hongjie Wang<\/td>The Ocean Carbon Lab studies the biogeochemistry of seawater and sediments in the contexts of coastal aquaculture, ocean alkalinity enhancement, ocean acidification and marine CO2 removal. <\/td><\/tr>
Omand Lab<\/a><\/td>Melissa Omand<\/td>The Omand lab studies the physical movement of organic carbon in the ocean. We specialize in situ<\/em> imaging and optical proxies from autonomous platforms. <\/td><\/tr>
RI-NEST<\/a><\/td>Elin Torell<\/td>This new EPSCCoR initiative, the\u00a0RI Network for Excellence in Science and Technology\u00a0(RI-NEST) will strengthen Rhode Island’s research ecosystem around the blue economy.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Faces of the Blue Economy<\/h2>\n\n\n