Marine Bioprospecting: Understanding the Activity and Some Challenges Related to Environmental Protection, Scientific Research, Ethics, and the Law

Abstract

Marine bioprospecting is an activity that has only been developed recently. The term refers to the exploration and commercial exploitation of marine genetic resources. It is a promising but also highly controversial activity, which is expected to experience significant growth in the next decades, offering vast economic and commercial profits. At the same time, it raises several environmental, scientific, ethical, and legal challenges that will need to be addressed. In order to increase understanding about marine bioprospecting and its overall impact, this paper aims to shed more light on the activity and briefly present some of the resulting challenges.