The oceans cover over 70% of the Earth's surface and play a crucial role in providing social, economic, and environmental benefits to the earth’s growing population. According to the OECD's 2017 Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum on “Greening the Ocean Economy”, the oceans support activity with an annual economic value in the range USD 1.5-2 trillion. In 2017 the OECD estimated that the value of the ocean economy could have more than doubled by 2030 1. However, marine resources are in rapid decline due to the destruction of habitat, overfishing, pollution, and global change. The promotion of ocean literacy and the encouragement of citizens to behave in environmentally responsible ways have been regarded as challenging yet fundamental elements for minimizing the negative environmental impacts of human activity 2. In the pursuit of this goal, a series of ongoing ocean education research projects at international and national levels has been proposed within the Sea Grant Program (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the EU Blue Growth program (European Commission), and the Ocean Literacy Program (Japan), among others.
Around the world, current developments in scientific education have placed a strong emphasis on scientific literacy, which has now emerged as a clear common theme 3–5. Marine education is presently evolving along the same path, as marine educators work towards the goal of integrating ocean literacy into classroom activities. Ocean literacy is a broad concept that encompasses a number of educational themes that have shifted over time. Many institutions and individuals have tried to define what is meant by ocean literacy. As part of a project supported by the National Geographic Society, the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence, the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA), the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the College of Exploration, Cava, et al. 6 developed a framework for the Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts of Ocean Sciences. In their report, ocean literacy is defined as a means to “understand the essential concept, communicate about the ocean in a meaningful way, as well as make informed and responsible decisions regarding the ocean”.
Following the development of initial principles and concepts with respect to ocean literacy, some adjustment is still ongoing due to the wide range of meanings and variety of goals of ocean literacy. The development of ocean literacy is similar to the development of scientific literacy, due to the plethora of visions of scientific concepts, processes, the nature of science, procedural skills, and affective and motivational development, both for general and local education purposes, all of which should be included in the notion of scientific literacy 4,7. In the public realm, teachers and researchers generally acknowledge that scientific literacy encompasses cognitive, affective, and practice domains (NGSS). Therefore, in line with scientific literacy, ocean literacy should also include, albeit not exclusively, marine conceptual understanding, procedural skills, and affective and motivational development, its ultimate aim being the development of responsible behavior regarding the ocean (Cava et al., 2005).
Given that human-induced modifications have been the dominant detectable threat to the global marine environment 8, the improvement of public understanding and individual/collective responsible behavior regarding the ocean is important for the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean’s resources. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in studies of ocean literacy, with a primary focus on investigating the level of knowledge of ocean science 2,9. This recent surge in interest relates largely to the essential principles and fundamental concepts of ocean sciences, with a focus on the development of ocean knowledge, and only rarely on the shaping of attitudes. Despite increased investment in ocean literacy in many countries, a critical question has emerged of which constructs of ocean literacy are the main factors that influence responsible ocean behavior, in terms of knowledge and attitude. Few analyses evaluate explicitly the impact of knowledge and attitudes on responsible behavior towards the ocean. However, an understanding of the cognitive mechanism of responsible behavior regarding the ocean may help government agencies and educators learn how to develop policy and procedure for enhancing sustainable development of the oceans. The aim of this study is to fill this gap by considering these important questions.
Although previous authors have recognized knowledge and attitude as the antecedents of responsible environmental behavior (REB), there is at present no agreement among researchers which of the variable appears to be the more strongly associated with REB. Many scholars have suggested that knowledge should be thought of as the main influence of REB in ocean literacy. According to Steel, et al. 10, improving citizens’ knowledge should be the first step in establishing a nationwide effort to preserve the oceans in the USA. McKinley and Fletcher 11 identified lack of knowledge as a major factor in public non-involvement in environmental activities, and Hines, et al. 12 argued that knowledge is a prerequisite of action in this regard. In a similar study, Umuhire and Fang 13 highlighted that a lack of knowledge can limit participation in ocean-related action.
Researchers generally acknowledge that knowledge is not the sole determinant of environmental behavior 12,14. A number of studies have shown that attitude towards environment is more important than knowledge in governing environmentally responsible behavior. Meinhold and Malkus 15 examined the relationships among adolescent environmental behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes, and found attitudes to be better predictors of environmental behaviors than environmental knowledge. A similar finding was also reported by Pe’er, et al. 16 in 765 students in Israel, where attitudes correlated with environmental behavior more strongly than knowledge.
In recent studies in social psychology there have been some attempts to explore the relationships among knowledge, attitudes, and behavior; however, the model of behavior regarding the ocean environment is still not clear. A number of studies on psychological theories reveal that knowledge may play a key role in its direct impact on attitude and behavior 17. For example, to construct a model of environmentally responsible behavior among tourists, Cheng and Wu adopted the “cognition-affection-attitude-behavior” model 18, suggesting that environmental knowledge can be key to the development of environmental sensitivity and environmentally responsible behavior. In contrast, Ajzen, et al. 19 indicated that the effect of knowledge on behavior could be indirect, and mediated largely by attitude and intention. Kallgren and Wood 20 assessed attitudes towards environmental conservation, by measuring attitude-relevant knowledge before proposing another model in which attitudes were better predictors of environment-related behavior when they are based on greater amounts of knowledge. In sum, there may be a path model for the relationship among ocean knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Given that empirical evidence indicates an inconsistent direct impact of knowledge on behavior 19,20, a mediate relationship between knowledge and behavior may exist. In this study, we hypothesize that conceptions of the ocean may be influenced by both attitude and behavior, and attitude may play a mediating role between knowledge and behavior.
Purpose of the study
Characterization of the ocean literacy of citizens is the first stage in longitudinal, cross-sectional, and causal research that forms part of the investigation of the relevant responsible behavioral mechanisms. Information gained from this study is vital in view of its potential for promoting marine policy and the development of marine education programs. The aim of this article is to characterize ocean literacy, including ocean knowledge, attitudes towards the ocean, and intentions towards responsible marine behavior. We also attempt to examine a model of intentions towards responsible marine behavior.