Ocean literacy survey: headline findings

Introduction

The headline report

This report presents the headline findings from an online survey with the public in Scotland on Ocean Literacy. It is part of a wider project covering England and Wales and follows up on research undertaken in 2021 (although Scotland was not part of the 2021 survey). The survey was commissioned by Defra in collaboration with Marine Scotland, Natural Resources Wales and the Ocean Conservation Trust as part of the project Understanding Ocean Literacy and Ocean Climate-related Behaviour Change in the UK^[2].

Across Scotland, 3,055 people over the age of 16 participated in an online survey. Fieldwork was conducted between 7 March and 3 April 2022. Respondents were selected using BMG's online panel blend approach which involves inviting participation across multiple panels and applying quotas to ensure that the sample is representative of the wider population. See Annex 1 and the Technical Report which accompanies this report for more details on sampling.

Background

The main aim of the survey is to better understand the extent and current level of Ocean Literacy in the England, Wales and Scotland.

The survey uses the IOC-UNESCO definition of 'Ocean Literacy' – 'an understanding of the ocean's influence on a person and their influence on the ocean'.

Using this definition, the survey explores different dimensions of 'Ocean Literacy', including information on public awareness, knowledge, attitudes, communication, activism and behaviours related to the marine environment.

The survey also explores barriers to promoting Ocean Literacy in the population.

Survey scope

This survey builds on earlier research undertaken in 2021 in England and Wales, and provides contextual information needed to understand behaviour change related to climate change and the attainment of Good Environmental Status (GES) in the UK marine environment.

The objectives of the survey are to:

• Provide robust information on the extent to which the public understands and are aware of the benefits they receive from the marine environment.
• Identify pro-environmental behaviours among the public in relation to the marine environment, for example, switching to energy from marine renewable sources, buying more locally produced seafood products and using more public transport.
• Measure the extent of the public's attitudes towards protecting the marine environment, including intentions for change.
• Provide estimates of the level and type of engagement with the marine environment, including visits and activities undertaken in the last 12 months, and identify the barriers and drivers that shape participation.
• Provide information on the impact of visits to the marine environment on wellbeing.

A note on the data in this report

The findings in this report describe proportions of respondents from an overall weighted base. The weighted base is the adjusted sample size within each sub-group after weighting procedures have been applied to reflect the relative proportions of the population based on key socio-demographic and geographic information. This is applied to the overall unweighted base of 3,055 respondents, which is the total number of survey responses achieved.

The figures presented in the report have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage. In some instances, where percentages have been summed, this is done to a number of decimal places, which means that figures may appear to be ±1% up or down from the percentages when summed to zero decimal places.

Further details about the methodology used in the survey, including sample design, weighting and demographic information are outlined in the technical report.

Further publications related to this survey:

• Headline report for England
• Headline reports for Wales in English and Welsh
• A technical report containing details of the survey methodology
• Data tables in excel providing more detailed survey results (forthcoming)
• 'Understanding Ocean Literacy and ocean climate-related behaviour change in the UK – An Evidence Synthesis'. Report produced for Ocean Conservation Trust and Defra.