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Advances in Politics and Economics 
ISSN 2576-1382 (Print) ISSN 2576-1390 (Online) 

Vol. 4, No. 2, 2021 
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1 
 

Original Paper 

On the Four Eras of the Use of the Ocean by Mankind 

Keren Sun1* 
1 School of Big Data, Qingdao Huanghai University, Qingdao, China 
* Keren Sun, Professor, PhD of University of Utah, School of Big Data, Qingdao Huanghai University, 

Qingdao, China 

 

Received: January 14, 2021     Accepted: January 26, 2021     Online Published: March 22, 2021 

doi:10.22158/ape.v4n2p1            URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/ape.v4n2p1 

 

Abstract 

This paper takes the relationship between humans and the ocean as the object of analysis, from the 

perspective of human use of the ocean, four era theories on the relationship between humans and the 

ocean are proposed, i.e., in the first era, the ocean is a geographic barrier for mankind; in the second 

era, the ocean is a road for human transportation; in the third era, the ocean is a granary for mankind; 

in the fourth era, the ocean is a treasure house of mankind’s natural resources. Viewing from the last 

three eras, we can know that the ocean plays an important role in promoting the creation, production, 

and accumulation of human wealth. This paper argues the four-era theory of the relationship between 

humans and the ocean, also get the following conclusion: every era has the most significant feature of 

this era. This most significant feature function is the most important, largest, latest, and trendy 

contribution of the oceans to humans in this era; the four-era theory of the relationship between 

humans and the ocean also shows the continuous improvement process of human influence and 

utilization of the oceans; the continuous improvement of human influence and utilization of the ocean is 

realized by improvement of science and technology; the ability of humans to influence and utilize the 

oceans in the second era surpassed the first era is due to advances in shipbuilding technology and 

navigation technology; humans’ ability to influence and utilize the ocean in the third era surpassed the 

second era due to advances in biotechnology; and the ability of humans to influence and utilize the 

ocean in the fourth era surpassed the third era due to the advancement and application of all-round 

science and technology; Historically, once a country has maritime hegemony, this country would 

become wealthy, powerful, and the leaders of maritime civilization. 

Keywords 

four eras, marine economy, ocean, mankind  

 

 



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1. Introduction 

From the perspective of the development process of human history, the relationship between mankind 

and the ocean is extremely close. I think from the historical perspective of the ocean’s main 

contribution to mankind, the relationship between mankind and the ocean can be divided into the 

following key eras: (1) the ocean is a geographic barrier for mankind; (2) the ocean is a road for human 

transportation; (3) the ocean is a granary for mankind; (4) and the ocean is a treasure house of 

mankind’s natural resources.  

Viewing from the last three eras, the main relationship between mankind and the ocean is reflected in 

economic relations. This means that the ocean plays an important role in promoting the creation, 

production, and accumulation of human wealth. 

The four-era theory of the relationship between humans and the ocean is the argument put forward in 

this paper. The following part is the argument of this point of view. The review and citation of the 

literature are interspersed in the process of argument. 

 

2 The Era of Geographical Barriers of the Ocean 

In the early stage of the natural use of the ocean by mankind, the primary function of the ocean was a 

natural safety barrier, secondly, the use of primitive boats to sail inshore, the primitive boats helping 

humans leave the land, the thirdly, fishing and sun-dried sea salt. 

 Ocean was a natural safety barrier for human beings. A country or region that has the ocean as a 

natural barrier, does not mean that it will not be conquered. There is a poem in the classic Chinese book 

titled the Bible of Poetry, which is translated into English as “Xiangtu is brave and talented, so that 

overseas people also submit to him” (Note 1). There is a sentence in another Chinese classic book titled 

Noble Book, which is translated into English as “Walk all over the earth, until the sea” (Note 2). The 

first poem means that a country or region could be conquered even if this country or region has sea as 

barrier, the second sentence means that sea is a barrier for human beings. 

The Ming Dynasty of China implemented sea ban policy, the purpose of which was to protect oneself 

via the natural barrier of the sea, because at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming 

Dynasty of China, the Japanese feudal lords fought against each other, and the feudal lord who failed in 

the war organized warriors, merchants, and ronin to carry out armed smuggling, looting and harassment 

in coastal areas of China (Note 3). 

At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the sea ban was implemented, the purpose of which was to deal 

with the attack from the sea by Zheng Chenggong, the remnant force of the Ming Dynasty. After Zheng 

Chenggong was suppressed, the Qing Dynasty lifted the sea ban. After more than 30 years, the policy 

of fully opening the sea began to shrink due to increasingly serious pirate activities and the potential 

threats from Western culture, Western civilization, and Western industrial products in East Asian waters 

(Note 4). The first Opium War in 1840 and the Second Opium War in 1856 completely knocked on 

China’s door, and the sea barrier completely failed. 



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The United Kingdom is an island country surrounded by the sea, with the North Sea to the east, the 

Atlantic Ocean to the west and north, and the English Channel to the south, across the sea from France 

(Qian & Xu, 2017). The ocean provides a natural barrier for Britain. In 55 and 54 BC Julius Caesar 

invaded Britain twice: The first invasion did not achieve great results. The second invasion consisted of 

628 ships, five legions and 2000 cavalry, eventually conquered England (Note 5). The king of England 

in the Middle Ages did not have to keep a standing army because of the barrier of the sea (Qian & Xu, 

2017). 

 

3. The Era of Sea Channel of Trade and Transportation 

3.1 Why Do Humans Need Roads 

Wikipedia defines transportation as “the movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to 

another.” (Note 6) 

Abraham Maslow divided the needs of human beings hierarchically into five levels at the beginning of 

his career and six levels during his later years: (a) physiological, (b) safety, (c) social belonging, (d) 

esteem, (e) self-actualization, and (f) self-transcendence. (Note 7) Viewing from Maslow’s hierarchy of 

human needs, we can know that the human needs for transportation are not included in Maslow’s 

category, as the human needs included in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs belong to category of ends, but 

the human needs for transportation belong to the category of means (Sun & Philips, 2020), 

transportation is a means for humans to satisfy their needs, because all of life’s necessities and 

pleasures that humans need cannot possibly locate within reach of their static bodies. So, if there were 

not transportation, humans need could not be realized. Roads are infrastructures that match human 

transportation. Without roads, human transportation behavior cannot be realized. 

3.2 The Advantages of Sea Roads 

Comparing to rail and land road transportation, sea roads are natural, railroads and land roads require 

substantial investment in construction waterway, this kind of construction investment can be saved in 

sea roads. At the meantime, the waterway extends in all directions, is not restricted by roads and tracks, 

and also transportation by sea roads have stronger cargo capacity, can travel day and night. Before the 

invention of cars and trains, sea transportation must have been faster than land transportation. 

However, if a country wants to fully utilize the advantages of sea routes, it needs to have two 

capabilities, one is the ability to sea transport, and the other is the ability to protect the safety of 

maritime transport and the smooth flow of sea routes. The first ability is relative to maritime navigation 

technique, technology, and knowledge, the courage and passion of the navigator, ship building 

technology and level, etc. The second ability is relative to the military strength of a country’s navy. 

Navigation technology mainly includes navigation and positioning of ships, operation and avoidance of 

ships, types and structures of ships, equipment and accessories of ships, navigation aids and facilities, 

marine hydrology, geography and meteorology, and port and waterway engineering (Note 8). 

Navigation has evolved from skill to science and technology, for example, “Early Pacific Polynesians 



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used the motion of stars, weather, the position of certain wildlife species, or the size of waves to find 

the path from one island to another.” (Note 9) The navigation method used by early pacific Polynesians 

belongs to skill category. Maritime navigation first using astrolabe occurred during the Middle Ages 

(Note 10). Due to the development and application of information science, computer technology, 

electronic technology, communication technology and space satellite technology in navigation, 

navigation technology has made great progress (Note 11). 

Because the control and monopoly of ocean transportation channels can bring huge economic benefits, 

when countries around the world have huge differences in the two capabilities of maritime 

transportation, a monopoly pattern on ocean transportation channels has formed. 

3.3 The Contribution and Wealth Creation of Greece and Venice, the Early Leaders of Marine 

Civilization 

The geography of ancient Greece included three types of region, i.e., the coast, the lowlands, and the 

mountains (Note 12), therefore, roads were too expensive, and roads were rarely built, then travel by 

land in ancient Greece was difficult (Note 13). Due to the rocky and mountainous landscape, ancient 

Greece had limited food supplies, then the ancient Greeks produced goods to trade for food from other 

areas around the Mediterranean, it is estimated that ancient Athens imported over three-fourths of its 

grain at the height of its population (Note 14). Greek coastline provided an abundance of harbors and 

inlets for shipping, ocean travel and ocean transportation became the most important means of 

transportation for the ancient Greeks. 

Transportation by sea was a great asset to the ancient Greeks, with the help of ocean trade, the ancient 

Greeks accumulated and created more wealth: “In ancient Greece, nearly 700 small communities were 

within forty miles of the coast. These communities typically enjoyed more wealth than their inland 

counterparts.” (Note 15) 

With the help of ocean trade, the ancient Greeks created a splendid Greek civilization. “The affinity of 

the Ancient Greeks to the sea is clearly manifested through their art and mythology. Many sculptures 

and deities were of or related to the sea, most notably Poseidon, God of the Sea. Greek voyagers would 

pray to these deities in the hope of receiving guidance and safe passage during their journey.” (Note 16) 

The republic of Venice existed from 697 AD to 1797 AD. Venice prospered on the salt trade in its early 

years, and established marine hegemony in subsequent centuries: Venice dominated trade on the 

Mediterranean Sea, including commerce between Europe and North Africa, as well as Asia, the 

Venetian navy was used in the Crusades (Note 17). Venice achieved territorial conquests along the 

Adriatic Sea and became home to an extremely wealthy merchant class, who patronized renowned art 

and architecture along the city’s lagoons (Note 18). The wealth and prosperity of Venice laid the 

foundation for Venice to become the center of the Renaissance. 

 

 

 



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3.4 The Alternation of Maritime Hegemony 

3.4.1 Portugal’s Maritime Supremacy 

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese explorers were at the forefront of overseas exploration, 

created one of the most powerful empires: they reached India, established multiple trading posts in Asia 

and Africa, and settled what would become Brazil (Note 19). Major events are as follows (Note 20): (1) 

King Denis made an agreement with Genoese merchant sailor Manuel Pessanha in 1317, laying the 

basis for the Portuguese Navy and the establishment of a powerful Genoese merchant community in 

Portugal. (2) Portuguese occupied Ceuta in 1415 by the aiming to control navigation of the African 

coast, Young prince Henry the Navigator was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the 

Saharan trade routes, and invested in sponsoring voyage. (3) Since 1420 Governor of the rich Order of 

Christ held valuable monopolies on resources in Algarve, invested in sponsoring voyages down the 

coast of Mauritania, and was granted a royal monopoly of all profits from trading within the areas 

discovered in 1443. (4) Vasco da Gama commanded a ground-breaking voyage to reach Calicut in 

western India in 1498, opened up a sea route to Asia, and became the first European to reach India. (5) 

1500 Pedro Álvares Cabralmade landfall on the Brazilian coast, Brazil becomes the Portuguese colony. 

(6) In 1511 Albuquerque sailed to Malacca in Malaysia, which became the strategic base for Portuguese 

trade expansion with China and Southeast Asia. Afterwards the Portuguese Empire expanded into the 

Persian Gulf, the Portuguese Empire expanded into the Persian Gulf as Portugal, and contested with the 

Ottoman Empire for control of the spice trade. 

3.4.2 Spain’s Maritime Supremacy 

Portugal monopolized the route from Europe through Africa to Asia, grabbed a lot of wealth, which had 

caused the jealousy of other countries. But the other countries must find a new route to the East to grab 

wealth from spice trade, due to the Portugal’s monopoly on the old route. Spain had achieved far 

beyond this goal. Columbus’ 1492 America expeditions was sponsored by Catholic Spain monarchs 

Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II (Note 21). The original intention of Columbus’s voyage was to 

discover the place where spices are produced. Columbus did not find spices, but found gold and silver 

that is more precious than spices, so that Spain could grab a large amount of gold and silver from 

America. According to estimates, between 1500 and 1650, Spain grabbed 181 tons of gold and 16,000 

tons of silver from the New World (Taylor, 2002). If it is converted to current value, if gold value is 

calculated at the current price of $1850 per ounce, that much gold would be worth nearly $10.8 billion 

dollars, i.e.1850*181*1000000/31.034768=10789511943.508$; if silver value is calculated at the 

current price of $24 per ounce, then that much silver would be worth nearly $12.4 billion dollars, i.e., 

24*16000*1000000/31.034768=12373219,609.6971$.  

For searching for a westward route to the Maluku Islands, Ferdinand Magellan funded by the Spanish 

Crown organized the Castilian expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522. Magellan headed south 

to Patagonia through the Atlantic Ocean, and passed through the Strait of Magellan into Pacific Ocean, 

at last reached the Spice Islands in 1521, and returned home via the Indian Ocean, finally completed 



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the first circuit of the globe (Note 21) .Magellan’s voyage around the world brought huge economic 

benefits to Spain, in the early 16th century, Portugal with a population of less than 2 million dominated 

the commercial routes of about half the Earth at its heyday, monopolized the western and eastern spice, 

sugar and slave trade, Spain broke the Portuguese monopoly, and the two countries signed a treaty in 

1529, i.e. Treaty of Zaragoza, to jointly monopolize the sea-way spice trade between the East and the 

West.  

3.4.3 The United Provinces’ Maritime Supremacy 

The Spanish Armada attacked Britain in the summer of 1588, but was defeated horribly, which led to 

the end of Spanish hegemony at sea (Note 22), and The United Provinces rose to hegemony in the early 

seventeenth instead of Spain (Taylor, 1994).  

The rampant promiscuity among ideological force resource, military force resource, political force 

resource, and economic force resource created a very unusual configuration of social forces, which 

translated into hegemony (Taylor, 1994). The foundation of Dutch maritime hegemony in 17th Century 

was the excelling of the Dutch shipbuilding industry. By 1600 Dutch shipbuilders dominated the 

European market, whose success was based on low costs and the technical superiority of ships built by 

them (Note 23). “Dutch ship design and construction were the envy of seventeenth-century Europe, a 

target of industrial espionage for the French and a target for violence for the English and a source of 

capital goods for the Venetians who simply bought Dutch ships outright” (Note 24) (Unger, 2011). The 

excelling of the shipbuilding industry of the Dutch laid the foundation for the strength of the Dutch 

shipping industry, which prompted the Netherlands to become the European sea coachman in the 17th 

Century. Obviously maritime hegemony needs strong military power to escort. Maurice founded a 

whole new school of military professional practice, and reformed military tactics, his innovations in 

military field greatly improved the military power of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, which 

was one of the most powerful in Europe between 1600 and 1648 (Note 25). 

The Dutch built up by far the largest merchant fleet in the world. In the North Sea and Baltic there was 

little risk of piracy and trips shuttled between markets. In dangerous zones (where the risk of piracy or 

shipwreck was high) they traveled in convoys with a light guard. 

3.4.4 The Era of the United Kingdom’s Maritime Supremacy 

Britain declared war on the Dutch in December 1780, then the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War broke out. 

With the end of the war, the world entered the era of British maritime hegemony. 

Before 1800, monopoly dominated in the overseas expansion and colonial trade of Europe. “It is 

inconceivable that any country would have willingly shared access to such fabulous riches as the spices 

of the Eastern seas or the gold and silver of Mexico and Peru. Following the example of the Iberian 

kings, every other European monarch refused to permit any other power to trade with his colonies 

before the end of the eighteenth century.” (Hamilton, 1948, p. 51). The specially designed staple ports, 

convoyed fleets, prescribed routes, and special privileges “closed most of the colonies to most of the 

subjects of most of the colonial powers most of the time.” (Hamilton, 1948, p51). After the United 



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Kingdom got the maritime supremacy, an inclusive and open maritime policy was implemented. The 

United Kingdom advocated freedom of navigation and free trade policies. For examples, the British 

Corn Laws, which are laws of anti-free trade, restricted import of food and grain, and was repealed in 

1849 (Note 26). It is economic ideas rather than the pressure of interests that were central to repeal the 

Corn Laws (Irwin, 1989). The Navigation Act long titled An Act for Increase of Shipping, and 

Encouragement of the Navigation of this Nation was first adopted in 1651 (Note 27), its intent was to 

intensify the long-standing principle that English vessels should be used by English trade and fisheries. 

It is obvious that the Navigation Act 1651 was a monopoly law, which was repealed in 1849.To 

maintain the international trade order is the ultimate goal of the United Kingdom by holding sea power. 

During the maritime hegemony process “Britain as the hegemon can be seen to have provided a “public 

good” to the international economy in the form of a liberal ideology” (O’Brien et al., 1992, p. 110). 

Such a strategic move not only enabled the United Kingdom to obtain huge economic benefits by 

becoming a “sun never setting empire” with colonies all over the world, but also enabled other 

countries to obtain large or small economic benefits accordingly. So that the United Kingdomcould 

maintain the longest maritime hegemony in history. 1939 was marked as the year of end of Britain’s 

cycle of hegemony by Robert Gilpin (Spiezio, 1990). 

3.4.5 The USA’s Maritime Supremacy 

Because 1939 was marked as the year of end of Britain’s cycle of hegemony, that means the world 

entered the era of the USA’s maritime supremacy. The United States does not seem to show a diligent 

pursuit of maritime hegemony. All this is determined by the general trend of historical development, 

that is, the occurrence of World War I and World War II. The accumulation of US economic, political, 

military and technological strength paved the way for the smooth succession of hegemony. 

The United States’ emphasis on the ocean began with the publication of Mahan’s work titled “The 

Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783” in 1890.Before 1890 the United States had always 

regarded itself as a Mainland country, whose land was its basic space for survival and development, 

after 1890 the United States gradually changed from the strategy of valuing land and undervaluing sea 

to the strategy of valuing land and sea equally. In his book Mahan argued that (Note 28): (1) national 

greatness was associated with the sea; (2) the importance of strategic locations, such as choke points, 

canals, and coaling stations, had been emphasized; (3) states should increase production and shipping 

capacities and acquire overseas possessions; (4) the primary mission of a navy was to secure the 

command of the sea by destroying or neutralizing the enemy fleet and not by destruction of commerce. 

Mahan’s sea power theory provided the basis for the strengthening of the U.S. Navy. In the 1890s the 

U.S. Congress approved building multiple modern steel-hulled armored cruisers and battleships. The 

number of U.S. Navy ships in 1870 ranked 12th in the world, and rose to 5th around 1900 (Note 29). In 

1902 President Theodore Roosevelt said that: “A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest 

guaranty of peace.” (Note 30) 

The U.S. won two major battles during the 1898 Spanish–American War, which not only verified the 



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increase in the strength of the U.S. Navy, but also expanded the range of U.S. maritime power. The 

First World War and the Second World War severely weakened the naval power of Britain and the 

European powers. In 1939, Britain handed over its maritime hegemony to the United States naturally. 

 

4. The Era of Human Blue Granary 

It is said that fishing was an essential source of food in Prehistory, “Homo habilis then Homo erectus 

were the first fishermen, some 500 000 years ago” (Note 31), and “During Graeco-Roman Antiquity, 

fishing was the main subject of the Halieutika” (Note 32). Fishery belongs to agriculture in the 

classification of statistics, so the sea is regarded as the blue granary for humans, but the size of the blue 

granary depends on the human’s ability to exploit the sea. 

In modern history, the Dutch fishing industry was once very strong. The backbone of the Dutch fishing 

industry was the North Sea herring fishery, “in the 14th and 15th Centuries, herring fisheries in the 

North Sea, off southern Norway, and in the Baltic Sea became the fountainhead of the enormous wealth 

of the Hanseatic League of trading cities.” (Note 33) In 1603, 450000 people in Holland were engaged 

in work related to the thriving herring fishery (Pitcher & Lam, 2015). At that time, the strengths of 

Dutch fishing industry lie in (Note 34): (1) the catch is large, the size of fishing buses is large. It is 

estimated that the size of the herring fleet is roughly 500 busses and the catch is about 20000 to 25000 

lasts on average each year in the first decades of the seventeenth century; (2) the herring ships could 

remain at sea longer and increased the range of the herring fishery, because the herring catch can be 

processed with salt in herring bus at sea. 

The data in Table 1 can also support the prosperity of the Dutch fishing industry in the late 16th century 

and early 17th century. 

 

Table 1. Lasts of Herring Shipped through the Danish Soundin Annual Averages  

Time periods  Lasts of herring shipped from the Netherlands 

through the Danish Sound, 1562-1780 

1562-69  2619 

1574-79  456 

1580-89 852 

1590-99  5044 

1600-09  8495 

1610-19  8658 

1620-29  7593 

1630-39  7512 

1640-49  8089 

1650-57 3383 



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1661-70  2607 

1671-80  1954 

1681-90  2959 

1691-00  1879 

1701-10  329 

1711-20  1114 

1721-30  1748 

1731-40  1764 

1741-50  585 

1751-60  663 

1761-70  610 

1771-80  1389 

Source: W.S. Unger, “De Sonttabellen,” p. 114; “De Sonttabellenvoltooid,” p. 190. Indirectly cited 

from https://www.huxiu.com/article/375088.html 

 

The Dutch fishing industry was very strong in 16-17 Century due to the following reasons: 

(1) Leading Dutch shipbuilding industry in that era. Dutch shipbuilders dominated the European 

market by 1600, their success was due to 1ow costs and the technical superiority of their product 

(Unger, 1981). The ship building district of Zaan was the first industrialized area in the world with 

around 900 industrial windmills at the end of the 17th century. (Note 35) 

(2) Herring bus: a form of factory ship. The herring bus allowed the herring catch to be processed 

with salt at sea, so that the herring ship could remain at sea longer and increased the range of the 

herring fishery (Note 36). 

(3) Good regulation. Regulation was designed to maximize rents, this “strategy turned into one 

which at first limited sales and then returns to the Dutch industry.” (Unger, 1980, p. 253). 

Fishing is one way for humans to get food from the ocean, and the other main way is fishing farming. 

From the middle of the 11th century, the construction of ponds developed, heralding the beginning of 

fish farming (Note 37). It is obvious that fish farming is later than fishing. This is because fish farming 

requires humans to have a stronger ability to influence and control waters, and higher level of 

biotechnology than fishing. The fishing catch is restricted by the renewal of natural wild fishery 

resources. Excessive fishing will lead to ecological imbalance and affect the sustainable development 

of the fishing industry. Nevertheless, the aquaculture industry can economically provide humans with 

high-quality animal protein food, which plays a major role in making up for the lack of marine fishing. 

 

 

 

 



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Table 2. World Fisheries and Aquaculture Production, Utilization, Unit: Million Tonnes, Live 

Weight  

 1986-1995 

Average per 

year 

1996-2005  

Average per 

year 

2006-2015 

Average per 

year 

2016  2017  2018 

Capture: 

Inland  

6.4  8.3 10.6 11.4 11.9 12.0 

Capture: 

Marine 

80.5  83.0  79.3  78.3 81.2 84.4 

Total 

capture  

86.9  91.4 89.8 89.6 93.1 96.4 

Aquaculture: 

Inland  

8.6  19.8 36.8 48.0 49.6 51.3 

Aquaculture: 

Marine 

6.3 14.4 22.8 28.5 30.0 30.8 

Total 

aquaculture 

14.9  34.2 59.7 76.5 79.5 82.1 

Total world 

fisheries and 

aquaculture 

101.8  125.6 149.5 166.1 172.7 178.5 

Human 

consumption 

71.8  98.5 129.2 148.2 152.9 156.4 

Non-food 

uses 

29.9  27.1 20.3 17.9 19.7 22.2 

Population 

(billions) 

5.4 6.2 7.0 7.5 7.5 7.6 

Per capita 

apparent 

consumption 

(kg) 

13.4  15.9 18.4 19.9 20.3 20.5 

Source: FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020, P. 3.  

 

From the data in Table 2, we can see that the amount of marine capture has basically stabilized at 

around 80 million tones from 1986 to 2018, the amount of inland capture has basically stabilized at 

around 10 million tonnes, so that the amount of total marine capture has basically stabilized at around 

90 million tones from 1986 to 2018. However, the data in Table 2 also shows that from 1986 to 2018, 



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the amount of aquaculture increased greatly, the amount of marine aquaculture increased from 6.3 

million tonnes to 30.8 million tonnes, the amount of marine aquaculture in 2018 was 4.89 times that of 

1986; the amount of inland aquaculture increased from 8.6 million tonnes to 51.3 million tonnes, the 

amount of inland aquaculture in 2018 was 5.97 times that of 1986. Therefore, the ratio of the amount of 

total aquaculture to the amount of total capture was 17%, 37%, 66%, 85%, 85%, 85% in 1986-1995, 

1996-2005, 2006-2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 respectively. The ratios above show that the contribution of 

farming and fishing to human food supply is almost evenly divided now, which also shows the huge 

development potential and space of farming. 2016, 2017, 2018 per capita apparent consumption (kg) of 

fisheries and aquaculture production reached around 20 kg, which meets about 10% of human food 

needs, also means that the ocean has indeed become a blue granary for mankind already.  

 

5. The Era of Human Natural Resources Treasure House  

In the field of economics, what is generally accepted is the economics definition of Lionel Robbins. 

“Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce 

means which have alternative uses.” (Robbins, 1935, pp. 15) The means represent resources, the ends 

represent the human needs or wants. “Economics is entirely neutral between ends; ... in so far as any 

end is dependent on scarce means,” (Robbins, 1935, pp. 24). “The ends may be noble or they may be 

base. They may be ‘material’ or ‘immaterial’—if ends can be so described. But if the attainment of one 

set of ends involves the sacrifice of others, then it has an economic aspect.” (Robbins, 1935, pp. 24-25) 

Economics definition clearly shows that wants are unlimited, but the resources are limited. As the 

ocean contains abundant resources: marine resources include marine mineral resources, sea chemical 

resources, marine biological (aquatic) resources and marine power resources. Marine mineral resources 

mainly include petroleum, coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, copper, and quartz. Seawater chemical 

resources mainly include chlorine, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, iodine, uranium, gold, nickel, etc., 

which are dissolved in seawater. Marine power resources mainly include tidal energy, wave energy, 

ocean current energy, and seawater temperature difference energy and salt difference energy. But 

compared with land resources, the development and utilization of marine resources requires humans to 

have higher capabilities and a higher level of science and technology. In recent decades, the rapid 

development of science and technology has greatly promoted the use of marine resources by mankind, 

the ocean has entered the era of being human natural resources treasure house. 

China’s acquisition of marine resources is mainly reflected in renewable energy and low-value-added 

products, of course, China is also striving to pursue the acquisition of high-value-added resources, such 

as oil and natural gas: (1) 2019 was the best year in history for the global offshore wind industry, 

because this year the world offshore wind industry added 6.1 GW of new capacity, bringing total global 

cumulative installations to 29.1 GW. China remains in the number one spot for the second year in a row 

for new installations, installing a record 2.4 GW (GWEC, 2020); (2) China produced 49.16 million tons 

of offshore crude oil in 2019, having an increase of 2.3 percent over the 2018; (3) China produced 



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16200 million cubic meters natural gas, having an increase of 5.4% over 2018. The added value of 

offshore oil and gas industry was 154100 million yuan in 2019; (4) the added value of sea sand, seabed 

gold mining was 19400 million yuan in 2019 (China Marine Economic Statistics Bulletin, 2019). 

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has found that the country’s 

marine economy contributed USD 372844 million to the nation’s GDP in 2018 (Note 38), that means 

from 2017 to 2018, the marine economy of the USA grew by 5.8 percent, faster than the 5.4 percent 

growth of the total U.S. GDP. 

 

Table 3. The USA Ocean Economy Value Added by Industry: Mining Industry Unit: Million 

Dollars 

Sector  2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 

Mining: total 66168 40223 33282 37518 41171 

Oil and gas extraction 48728 27483 26014 30282 33491 

Mining, except oil and gas 780 616 644 859 956 

Support activities for mining 16661 12124 6624 6377 6724 

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis. Ocean Economy Prototype Statistics, 2014-2018. 

https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/ocean-economy 

 

Viewing the data in the Table 3, we can know that the ratio of the USA’s mining industry GDP to the 

whole nation’s GDP is 11.04% (41171/372844) in 2018, the USA’s oil and gas extraction industry GDP 

to the whole nation’s GDP is 8.98% (33491/372844) in 2018. The 11.04% and 8.98% ratios are high, 

that means the United States has obtained a large amount of oil and gas resources from the ocean, as 

well as a large quantity of other mineral resources, which also means that the world has truly entered 

the era of treating the ocean as a treasure house of natural resources, and the United States is the leader 

in this era. 

 

6. Conclusion 

From the above analysis, we can see that the use of the ocean by humans clearly shows four eras. Every 

era has the most significant feature of this era. This most significant feature function is the most 

important, largest, latest, and trendy contribution of the oceans to humans in this era. For examples, in 

the first era, the ocean is a geographic barrier for mankind, it means that the geographic barrier function 

is the greatest contribution of the ocean to mankind in the first era. When mankind uses the ocean as a 

geographic barrier, it does not exclude mankind from driving boats, fishing, and drying sea salt. 

However, driving boats, fishing, and drying sea salt are not important features of this era; in the fourth 

era, the ocean is a treasure house of mankind’s natural resources, it means that in the fourth era 

mankind regards obtaining more important and high-value natural resources from the ocean as an 



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important economic growth point and engine of technological innovation. In fourth era, ocean is still a 

road for human transportation and still is a granary for mankind, but ocean as a road for human 

transportation and as a blue granary for mankind is not main feature of the fourth era of the relationship 

between man and the ocean. 

The four-era theory of the relationship between humans and the ocean also shows the continuous 

improvement process of human influence and utilization of the oceans. The continuous improvement of 

human influence and utilization of the ocean is realized by improvement of science and technology. 

The ability of humans to influence and utilize the oceans in the second era surpassed the first era is due 

to advances in shipbuilding technology and navigation technology; humans’ ability to influence and 

utilize the ocean in the third era surpassed the second era due to advances in biotechnology; and the 

ability of humans to influence and utilize the ocean in the fourth era surpassed the third era due to the 

advancement and application of all-round science and technology. 

Historically, once a country has maritime hegemony, this country would become wealthy, powerful, 

and the leaders of maritime civilization. 

 

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Notes 

Note 1. http://www.hjdsd.com/news/Show.asp?id=361 

Note 2. ibid 

Note 3. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%98%8E%E6%9C%9D%E6%B5%B7%E7%A6%81 

Note 4. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%B8%85%E6%9C%9D%E6%B5%B7%E7%A6%81 

Note 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar%27s_invasions_of_Britain 

Note 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport 

Note 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs 

Note 8. 

https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%88%AA%E6%B5%B7%E6%8A%80%E6%9C%AF/46386 

Note 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navigation 

Note 10. ibid 

Note 11. 

https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%88%AA%E6%B5%B7%E6%8A%80%E6%9C%AF/46386 

Note 12. https://historylink101.com/2/greece3/climate-geography.htm 

Note 13. https://historylink101.com/2/greece3/travel-land.htm 

Note 14. https://www.creaders.net/ 

Note 15. ibid 

Note 16. http://fubini.swarthmore.edu/~ENVS2/rayyan/A%20Sailor%27s%20Life.html 

Note 17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Venice 

Note 18. ibid 

Note 19. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_discoveries 

Note 20. ibid 

Note 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus 

Note 22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Magellan. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0. 

Note 23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada 

Note 24. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/dutch-shipbuilding-golden-age 

Note 25.http://www.scielo.mec.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1645-64322011000200003 

Note 26. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_the_Netherlands 



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Note 27. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_Laws 

Note 28. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Thayer_Mahan 

Note 29. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_Navy 

Note 30. https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/famous-navy-quotations.html 

Note 31.https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/history-fishing 

Note 32. ibid 

Note 33. 

https://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/fish-commoditization-and-the-historical-origins-of-catching-fish

-for-profit 

Note 34. https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-dutch-economy-in-the-golden-age-16th-17th-centuries/ 

Note 35. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_Netherlands_(1500%E2%80%931815) 

Note 36. https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-dutch-economy-in-the-golden-age-16th-17th-centuries/ 

Note 37. https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/history-fishing 

Note 38. https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/ocean-economy 

 

 


