14 DAY TRIAL // The 2012 Ocean Health Index – a comprehensive analysis of both waters and the ecosystems they contain and support – gives the global ocean a score of 60 points out of 100. The assessment is divided by country, with scores ranges from 36 to 86 points.
The science director of the Center for Ocean Solutions, Larry Crowder, says that this result should not be interpreted as a failing grade, like a school card, but rather as a stock portfolio. The expert is a member of the international panel that compiled the report.
“We evaluated 10 public goals for each country. Some are doing really well for biodiversity, but not so well for food provision. Or some are doing really well for tourism, but poorly at protecting iconic species,” he explains.
What the Ocean Health Index does is aggregate these scores, and provide a comprehensive view of the overall ocean's health status. The work was published in the August 15 issue of the top journal Nature.