This report considers the potential of marine biotechnology to contribute to economic and social prosperity by making use of recent advances in science and technology. It discusses scientific and technological tools at the centre of a renewed interest in marine biotechnology, contributing to a new bioeconomy sector in many countries, and offering potential new solutions to global challenges. It also examines how these advances are improving our understanding of marine life and facilitating access to, and study of, marine organisms and ecosystems, and it considers the largely untapped potential of these bioresources.

This promise is considered alongside the challenges associated with the development of these resources which exist with complex ecosystems and fluidly distributed in a vast, largely shared environment. The report makes the case for a new global framework for the sustainable development of marine biotechnology and identifies some areas that will benefit from focused attention as governments develop policies to support it. In addition to this prospective view, this report identifies some early policy lessons learned by the governments which are leading attempts to benefit from bioresources.