research topics on blue economy

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• Published: 17 May 2021

Challenges of the Blue Economy: evidence and research trends

• Rosa María Martínez-Vázquez   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4875-754X 1 ,
• Juan Milán-García 1 &
• Jaime de Pablo Valenciano 1  

Environmental Sciences Europe volume  33 , Article number:  61 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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The Blue Economy is a recent field of study that encompasses economic activities that depend on the sea, often associated with other economic sectors, including tourism, maritime transport, energy and fishing. Blue growth supports the sustainable growth of the maritime and marine sectors as the oceans and seas are engines of the global economy and have great potential for growth and innovation. This article undertakes a bibliometric analysis in the terms of Blue Economy (BE), Maritime Economy (MAE), Ocean Economy (OE), Marine Economy (ME), and Blue Growth (BG) to analyze the scientific production of this field of study. Analysis of the authors’ definitions of BE, BG, ME and OE provides interesting relationships divided into sustainability and governance; economics and ecosystem protection; industrial development and localization; and the growth of the ocean economy, with development as the central axis that encompasses them. The main contribution is to find out if there is a link between the BE and the CE through the keyword study.

The results show a significant increase in articles and citations over the last decade. The articles address the importance of different sectors of BE and the interest of governments in promoting it for the development of their national economies. Using bibliometric mapping tools (VOSviewer), it is possible to find possible links between concepts such as CE and BE through the BG and to visualize trending topics for future research. Nascent and future research trends include terms such as small-scale fisheries, aquatic species, biofuel, growth of the coastal BE, internationalization and blue degrowth (BD), the latter approaches aspects of BG from a critical perspective.

Conclusions

In conclusion, it highlights the need for alliances between the sectors that compose BG with the incorporation of the CE in order to achieve a sustainable BE in both developed and developing countries. Through the keyword analysis it is shown that the BG strategy is the bridge between the BE and the CE. The CE presents itself as a promising alternative that could mitigate tensions between stakeholders who support both growth and degrowth positions.

Throughout history, the sea has always been present in the economic activities of all civilizations as a food resource, a means of transportation and commercial trade. In recent years the term Blue Economy (BE) has become a concept closely related to maritime resources and developed economies in the oceans. Its growing expansion and the emerging needs of a circular economy (CE) herald challenges in both new and established treatments and materials [ 30 ]. CE is understood as an economic model oriented towards the elimination of waste generated, efficient use of resources, recycling and recovery [ 79 , 117 ].

The BE aims to promote economic growth, improve life and social inclusion without compromising the oceans’ environmental sustainability and coastal areas since the sea’s resources are limited and their physical conditions have been harmed by human actions [ 40 ].

The first appearance of the term BE dates back to 2009, at the congress of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation of the United States. The importance of the BE for the USA’s overall economy, the excellent business opportunities it provides, and the concerns about climate change are excellent opportunities for new blue jobs in renewable energy [ 19 ]. In that same year, the International Symposium on Blue Economy Initiative for Green Growth in Korea took place, where “ the concept of using ocean resources in a way that respects the environment can evaluate how both business activity models and new technologies satisfy economic and environmental conditions, contributing to the sustainability of these resources ” [ 62 ].

Subsequently, Pauli [ 94 ], a leading proponent of the BE’s economic model, published a book entitled, “The Blue Economy” [ 7 , 16 , 45 , 110 ] which proposed it as a model based on technological innovation to supply products at low cost, promote local job creation and a model that is respectful of the environment and competitive in the markets.

At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, the oceans were deemed to be priority areas, with some initial objectives being proposed such as the “sustainable consumption and production patterns”, food security, sustainable energy for all and disaster risk reduction and resilience [ 124 ].

Undoubtedly, ocean resources generate numerous benefits to the world economy and offer essential opportunities for transportation, food production, energy, mineral extraction, biotechnology, human settlement in coastal areas, tourism and recreation, and scientific research [ 64 ].

In academic research, a literature review on the BE also needs to include similar concepts. Lee et al. [ 74 ] state that “ the term BE has been used in different ways and similar terms such as “ocean economy” or “marine economy” are used without clear definitions. ” At the same time, when analyzing other articles that address BE, it was observed that ocean economy (OE), marine economy (ME), and blue growth (BG) were also used as synonyms [ 64 , 121 ]. Table 1 shows some of the definitions of these terms.

Figure 1 presents an analysis of the similarities and differences of the above definitions, where each color of the circumference represents a concept (BE, BG, ME and OE) and within it the authors are positioned. The most interesting finding arises in the intersections, with the common element for BE and BG being the economy and the protection of marine ecosystems to ensure sustainability, ME and OE share industry development and location, in BE and ME we find governance and sustainability and finally BG and OE cooperate in the growth of the ocean-based economy. In relation to the differences, they are placed outside the quadrant, with aspects pointing to a social and complex system, a green and inclusive economy, as well as the existence of operational risks.

(Resource: own compilation)

Comparative analysis between authors’ definitions

The central point is ocean development promotion as a sign of progress and economic, political, social and cultural growth without losing the focus on sustainability.

It is important to highlight that the concept of BE gives rise to two conflicts of interest. On the one hand, those linked to economic growth and development, and on the other, those linked with safeguarding and protecting the ocean’s resources. Kathijotes [ 67 ] states that the objective of BE models is to transfer resources from scarcity to abundance and address the issues that cause environmental problems.

For this reason, it is necessary to propose solutions that take advantage of all available opportunities and analyze the threats to the OE. Lee et al. [ 74 ] link the BE and the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) and conclude that the objectives that are linked to the BE are: underwater life (14), land ecosystems (15); peace, justice, and stable institutions (16) and alliances to achieve the objectives (17). Linking BE with SDGs is challenging on the basis that the common element of both is in objective 14 [ 59 , 88 , 130 ]. In relation to hot spots, firstly, the starting point for achieving the SDGs is not homogeneous, with large differences between developed and developing countries [ 58 , 61 ] due to the economic, political, social, cultural and environmental context [ 51 ]. Secondly, there are areas of conflict mainly around divergent views on the legitimacy of different sectors as components of BE, in particular carbon-intensive industries such as oil and gas and the emerging deep-sea mining industry [ 131 ], as well as large fisheries versus those coastal areas where artisanal fisheries are in danger of extinction [ 109 ].

Furthermore, the increase in human activity, in the form of new or intensified uses, such as the generation of renewable marine energy, exert greater influence and cause conflicts between BE sectors [ 56 ].

In 2012 the European Union implemented its BG strategy and established subsectors within the field of the BE [ 41 , 96 ]. The BG Strategy breaks down the BE into five main sectors: Biotechnology, Renewable Energy, Coastal and Maritime Tourism, Aquaculture and Mineral Resources, and integrates other sectors such as fishing, transportation, offshore oil and gas extraction, and ship construction and repair.

Biotechnology presents excellent opportunities to produce natural products with possible applications in the food and pharmaceutical sectors [ 105 , 119 ]. It is a recent and developing sector that is part of the bioeconomy, the latter developing and using renewable biological resources from the land and sea. For example, the cultivation of seaweed is expected to provide sustainable biomass that facilitates the development of the marine bioeconomy through BG [ 43 ] and is considered an industrial benchmark for achieving a competitive, circular, and sustainable economy that is less dependent on fossil carbon [ 9 ].

Renewable wind energy from marine sources and the conversion of thermal energy from the ocean is increasingly present at the global ocean level [ 126 , 129 ]. Novel hybrid robust/stochastic approaches are used to participate in the electricity market, including renewable energy procurement through large consumer purchases that respond to the energy demands of wind turbines voyer (WT), photovoltaic systems (PV), bilateral contracts (BCs), and micro-turbines (MTs), and energy storage systems (ESS) [ 1 ]. Other strategies focus on the optimal programming of electrical energy consumption in multiple cooling systems [ 108 ] or models based on heat and energy centers [ 70 ].

Tourism has played a decisive role in developing many island economies, triggering other activities to obtain local economic returns. Similarly, aquaculture and fisheries have contributed to the economic development of certain regions without jeopardizing access to essential resources such as small-scale fisheries [ 15 , 39 , 109 ]. The exploitation and extraction of offshore oil and gas is a reality in many economies around the world wherein nations must weigh the economic benefits against the negative impact it may have on living marine resources [ 78 , 92 , 131 ].

Globally, shipping is the primary means of supplying raw materials, consumer goods, and energy, becoming a facilitator of world trade and contributing to economic growth and employment, both at sea and on land [ 81 ]. In addition, the shipbuilding industry provides real added value to numerous coastal communities [ 114 ].

Through bibliometric analysis, this study’s main objective is to explore the evolution of worldwide scientific production on BE between 1979 and 2020. The purpose is also to identify those concepts that are related to BE in order to subsequently carry out the study of keywords and establish future research trends.

Its main contribution is the assimilation of the BE into the CE since both are key to supporting BG and guaranteeing the sustainability of economic activities developed within the blue context. BE encompasses activities related to renewable energy use, waste management, climate change, fisheries and tourism, where the concept of economic circulation (based on recycling, extension, redistribution and manufacturing) can be integrated, moving from a linear economy to an economy that makes the most of waste through circular flow [ 60 , 112 , 133 ]. Analyzing the possible connections, we start from the study carried out by Ruiz-Real et al. [ 107 ], referring to the analysis of the global dynamics of the CE, where trend words related to renewable energy, climate change and waste management are located, finding an explicit link with almost all of the activities promoted by the BE shown in Fig. 2 . Furthermore, although there is no visible link on the fisheries and water issue in the BE and CE, it should be mentioned that fisheries depend on water, as their life cycle depends on this natural environment and both its conditions (quality, temperature, salinity) and its proper management influence the sustainability and conservation of marine species [ 36 , 106 ].

Analysis of relationships between BE and CE

An important aspect relates to the conflict between the interest groups of BD versus the economic development proposed by both the BE and the BG. Thus, the CE presents itself as a mediator between growth, economic development and employment while extending resource availability and reducing environmental and social pressures.

Methodology

Bibliometry offers useful results from the authors’ production in a field of research, trends, the most cited articles, and the concentration of documents in impact journals [ 63 ].

The first step was to select the terms through a prior review of those economies linked to the seas and oceans, with BE, BG, ME, and OE being the most representative terms.

The next step involved locating and extracting data on all the documents in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection that contain the terms established in the search criteria in order to visualize the behavior of scientific production over time, providing high-quality data and a complete description that facilitates data processing and for the broad recognition it has obtained in the scientific community [ 89 , 98 ]. For this study, the WoS database was selected. This database is widely recognized for gathering reliable and multidisciplinary research, with studies recommending its use due to the high proportion of exclusive journals [ 83 ].

A similar search query was carried out on the Scopus database using the same criteria to guarantee the data’s completeness. The results were similar to those obtained from WoS [ 44 , 53 , 80 ].

The data was then processed to analyze the number of articles published per year, the number of citations, and their h-index. Bibliometric analysis, the study of the scientific activity of authors, has been used to prepare this article and has been used in various areas.

Figure 3 depicts the descriptive statistical analysis of the main variables: cites per article, total cites, h-index, year, and articles. The matrix indicates the correlation between them (the closer to 1, the stronger the correlation; if the values are closer to − 1, there is an inverse correlation between variables, while if there is a zero value, there is no correlation). In the present case, the articles variable is highly correlated with the total of citations, h-index, and years. In contrast, there is an inverse correlation with the variable cites per article and year.

Correlation matrix of main variables

In this work, the number of articles, citations, citations per article, and h-index, the most relevant countries, institutions, and authors are studied. The keywords are also taken into account in order to discover new lines of research. A database search has been carried out, filtering by topic in the title, the abstract, author keywords, and Keywords Plus. The search for the keywords was carried out using the terms: “blue economy” or “ocean economy” or “blue growth” or “maritime economy” or “marine economy.” In the next stage, 780 results were obtained, from which articles were filtered, leaving 499 articles to be processed and analyzed in the fourth stage. The results were then filtered to include only articles as many of them have been published in journals with an impact factor in Journal Citation Reports (JCR). This indicator is highly regarded and valued by organizations that evaluate research activity, guaranteeing a strict review process and high-quality results [ 32 , 47 , 82 ].

Lastly, once the document search was filtered to include only articles, the data were exported and processed using two tools: Vosviewer and Biblioshiny. In this way, clusters can be created by downloading information from the Web of Science database.

The VOSviewer program offers the basic functionality necessary to visualize bibliometric networks, citation links between publications, collaboration between researchers, and co-occurrence links between scientific terms [ 128 ]. According to a logical bibliometric workflow, the Bibliometrix tool, developed in the statistical and graphical language R, is also used to add weight to the study. R is highly extensible as it uses a functional, object-oriented programming language, and therefore it is relatively easy to automate parsing and create new functions. It is utilized to create graphs for three metrics at different levels: sources, authors, and documents, and analyzing knowledge structures at the conceptual, intellectual and social level [ 5 ] (Fig. 4 ).

(Source: own compilation based on WoS)

The data collection process

Descriptive analysis

Figure 5 represents a descriptive analysis of the terms ME, OE, BE, and BG, making a note of the chronological order of the articles when these concepts first appeared.

(Source: own compilation based on WoS data)

Timeline of first published articles related to BE, BG, ME, and OE

The first mention of ME appeared in 1979 in the article entitled “ Marine Economy of Poland 1945–1975 ”. It addressed the growth of two port complexes located on the Polish Baltic Sea coast, Gdansk-Gdynia and Szczecin-Swinoujscie, pointing to the important economic activities in the area such as the export of coal and coke, ships, minerals, cereals, gypsum, rolled steel products, wood, cement, and food. It also pointed to tourism development along the coastal regions that required environmental protection [ 75 ]. Later, in 1992, the article “ The Intercolonial Railway, Freight Rates and The Maritime Economy in Canada ” stated that this infrastructure was a crucial piece in the history of MAE development and a transport link between the maritime islands and the center from Canada [ 31 ].

In 2004 the article “ Employment and Wages for the U.S. Ocean and Coastal Economy ” was published on the subject of OE and performed a preliminary analysis of the United States’ coastal and ocean economy between 1990 and 2001 to prepare coherent national estimates of economic values, based on economic and other measures related to the coasts and the oceans [ 27 ].

The article “ The Future of Blue Economy: Lessons for European Union ” marked the beginning of research on BE and made some preliminary considerations about the growing convergence of economic, social, technical, and environmental factors that contributed to generating new opportunities in the world’s oceans. Furthermore, thanks to the cooperation between European ocean industries and government institutions, together with the training of various experts, they became the epicenter of applying the European BE at sea [ 64 ].

In 2013 the BG Strategy, “ Scenarios for Selected Maritime Economic Functions Union ,” appeared and examined the usages of the scenarios of the BG project. It aimed to develop the maritime dimension of the Europe 2020 strategy, with a 15-year horizon (2025–2030). In this regard, the scenarios were understood and developed in two ways: the micro-future scenarios and the general scenarios [ 136 ].

Scientific production analysis

Table 2 shows the evolution of scientific production in the period (2020–1979) by the number of articles, citations, citations per article (average), and the annual h-index.

In 2010, there was an increase in the number of articles and citations resulting from the article, “ The importance of estimating the contribution of the oceans to national economies ” by Kildow and McIlgorm [ 71 ]. The authors stated that the oceans were in trouble and experienced changes that could compromise life on both the sea and the land, affecting the economy and the environment.

The year 2018 stands out for the number of citations, reaching its maximum value of 531 (Fig. 6 ). The most cited article, “ Blue growth: savior or ocean grabbing? ” questions political proposals and places them within the framework of the broader debates on the neo-liberalization of nature [ 8 ]. Other authors with a high number of citations address BG, tracing its roots to the conceptualization of sustainable development under the title “ What is blue growth? The semantics of “Sustainable Development” of marine environments ” [ 37 ]. The authors further manifest the complexity of ocean systems, combined with data and capacity constraints, demanding a pragmatic management approach [ 17 ].

Evolution in the number of publications and citations

The most cited articles closely related to the terms “BE, BG, ME, and OE,” in addition to the authors, journal, date of publication, and total citations, are listed in Table 3 . Of note is the article by Silver et al. [ 118 ], with 89 citations, which addresses how BE became operational and how it was articulated in four factors: oceans as natural capital, good business, the integral part of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and small-scale fisheries livelihoods. The second-ranked article by Kildow and McIlgorm [ 71 ] addresses the importance of knowing the oceans so that governments can have proactive behaviors in response to the demands of the population and nature in coastal and ocean environments. The third-ranked article, “ BG: savior or ocean grabbing? ”, critically addresses the political proposals, which fail to envision the problems of the environment and climate change.

The remaining articles address the marine sector’s role in the national economy, the concept of BG in the marine environment, the integrated maritime policy, and platforms for harvesting marine renewable energy.

Figure 7 depicts the authors and their links to scientific journals and the most representative keywords. In this instance, Morrissey, McIlgorm, Van der Burg, Morato, Bennett, and Soma have published the greatest volume of articles in Marine Policy , the scientific journal with the highest impact and the greatest number of relevant keywords.

(Source: own compilation using biblioshiny)

Relationships between top authors, journals, and keywords

Analysis of keywords

The keywords used in the article titles and abstracts are then analyzed according to their relevance and co-occurrence to create a co-occurrence map of all the terms used in the 499 selected articles (Fig. 8 ), using Vosviewer software. The minimum number of occurrences of a selected term is set at 25. Of the 12,858 terms found, 133 met the threshold and were included in the final analysis. From these results, a relevance score was calculated. The title and abstract fields were used to extract data. To extract the highest number of terms from the publications, the labels of the structured abstracts and the copyright statements are included.

Trends in keywords used in title and abstract

An analysis of the results reveals that the most productive period, between 2016 and 2020, has produced the most relevant terms. The ten most relevant terms are linked to maritime spatial planning, China, ME, OE, economic development, efficiency, and coastal areas. The most current terms have to do with the marine industry and access. In this sense, due to the boom in emerging marine industries and the support of nation states for marine technology, many Chinese universities have added specialties related to marine technology [ 76 , 134 ]. This industry has become a significant growth engine for China’s economic development [ 77 ]. Access refers to the exploitation of marine resources, coastal and fishing resources, spatial access to coastal communities, and the rights and property related to marine governance [ 2 , 11 , 69 , 109 ].

An analysis of the keywords identifies the most used terms and the most current trends related to the new areas of the concepts studied. The trend analysis depicted in Fig. 9 uses a color scale that goes from blue to yellow and categorizes the terms used in this field of study from the least to the most innovative in the period studied. Trends linked to concepts such as small-scale fishing, degrowth, aquatic species, biofuel, growth of the coastal BE, and internationalization are observed. These recent trends arising from the BE address the need to connect human and industrial activities that obtain their inputs from the sea by creating cooperative alliances at an international level, promoting sectors such as fishing, tourism, and energy. In addition, BE favors environmental sustainability since it uses renewable energy.

Trend analysis based on WoS data

The growth of the coastal BE can be linked to the government of Taiwan [ 20 , 116 , 141 ], which proposes a growth program for the coastal BE at the national level to promote ocean-related industries based on sustainable development by integrating different theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, modeling and management of ecosystem frameworks. In general, farming the sea is based on artificial technologies and it is argued that by developing marine fish farming, it is possible to contribute to the transformation of capture fisheries by integrating the concept of BE [ 24 ]. As for the term BD is understood as the need to address the dominance of the BG by seeking greater integration between society and the oceans [ 38 ]. This requires the withdrawal of specific activities currently in the hands of large corporations, ending the exploitation of localized production. It aims the decommodification of labor and the recovery of the common goods to protect diversity. It is therefore necessary to make visible the risks of strategies based on economic development by suggesting a rethinking of the BE [ 52 , 65 ]. In this sense, the decrease is intended to criticize the traditional ideas of growth and sustainability by promoting an equitable reduction in production and consumption, along with a socially transformative vision [ 22 ]. The role of biofuels in the BE is gaining momentum. The research of Kaşdoğan [ 66 ] examines algae-based biofuel production systems designed on the high seas and integrated with wastewater treatment and carbon dioxide absorption processes to revitalize faith in biofuels in the BE.

Past research has addressed aspects of OE and ME from the perspective of the economic activities derived from the sea, specifically food catches, commercial transport, and the maritime industry [ 10 , 68 ]. Subsequently, the sustainability approach within the MAE was included [ 140 ] along with the specific characteristics, the type of risk, and the uncertain areas of this economy [ 35 , 46 , 111 ] and the continued development of integrated marine policies [ 21 , 34 ].

Despite the tremendous potential of ensuring the oceans’ sustainability, the growth of the BE presents some challenges. One of the most obvious obstacles is the lack of common and agreed-upon goals of BG. For some, BG revolves around maximizing economic growth derived from marine and aquatic resources [ 14 , 57 ]. However, for others, it means maximizing “inclusive” economic growth derived from marine and aquatic resources [ 37 , 54 , 101 , 120 ]. A real example of inclusion is in the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which, like many developing countries, the issues of oceans, climate change, and energy are essential to poverty eradication. It is impossible to suppress poverty unless the health of ocean ecosystems is guaranteed and preserved as they are essential for food security, livelihoods, and economic [ 6 ]. Following the sustainability approach, the CE is building a strong emphasis on becoming a model that brings significant social, economic and environmental benefits [ 26 ].

The concepts of the “BE” and “BG” have been grouped together in a conceptual framework and are used as political discourse throughout the world as a way of representing the possible contribution to human well-being that both aquatic and marine spaces can make. Different interpretations of the concept of the BE are recognized. It is the very diverse definitions that generate a certain imprecision that allows the BE to encompass divergent visions and ideologies [ 25 ].

Fernández-Macho et al. [ 42 ] express the need to promote the BE to foster the progress and growth of maritime sectors, which can and should be sustainable. In this context, the development of integrated maritime policies is based on the belief that maritime zones can achieve higher growth rates, pointing out that the European Atlantic Arc could contribute to this BG.

Most activities related to the economic exploitation of the maritime environment carried out by humans do not conform to the notions of a “BE” since this economic exploitation does not often focus on a sustainable maritime environment [ 104 ]. Conflicts between sectors can emerge due to the nature of the resource itself (as it is a limited resource), its use and the commitment to develop efficient management of ocean resources, for example tourism versus offshore hydrocarbon extraction [ 72 ] or even within the same sector, with differences between the fishing fleet, fish farms and small-scale artisanal fisheries. Therefore, it is important to generate synergies between the different sectors that make up the BE in order to contribute to the economic development of the area and achieve the SDGs together, this being a local challenge (bottom-up strategy). Decisions could influence the sustainable growth of the BE in highly contested regions because both companies and political authorities are influenced by economic interests and by stakeholders that have power in decision-making. This could result in sustainable growth having a stronger influence than the effects of climate change, making it a more flexible and adaptable approach to policymaking that considers changing economic, social, and environmental realities [ 56 ].

Coastal communities are directly affected by the BE and the effective management of ocean resources for BG. Although the term ocean economics is often promoted as something new, there are historical analogies that can provide insights for contemporary planning and implementation of BG [ 99 ]. In this sense, thanks to the use and treatment of raw materials of marine origin, such as macroalgae, their multiple uses are essential for the efficient recovery of marine biomass [ 100 ].

While the protection of marine areas is considered a fundamental part of mitigating climate change, on a practical level, its success is overshadowed by the current expansion of offshore drilling for oil and gas [ 15 ]. The prospects for growth in the OE are promising because ocean industries address issues such as food security, energy security, and climate change [ 139 ]. On the other hand, there are discrepancies regarding the legitimacy of the different sectors that make up the BE, specifically the industries with high carbon intensity and the emerging seabed mining industry [ 132 ]. Numerous authors warn of the danger of privatizing ocean spaces through the BE [ 13 , 15 , 109 , 132 ].

Due to the current transformation of the oceans as places of integral industrialization, it is necessary to reflect on the experiences obtained from fishing and fisheries policies to understand and intervene in modernization processes and practices [ 4 ].

Another aspect to consider is climate change. Due to the negative consequences for coastal populations caused by rising sea levels, it is vital to develop defensive infrastructures. Since the turn of the century, the loss of landmass in the Greenland ice sheet has been accelerating [ 127 ]. It is a topic of great interest for both scientific research and public policy as sea level rise is influenced by regional and local factors, with coastal areas suffering the consequences of sea-level rise [ 3 , 49 , 50 , 91 , 115 , 123 ].

Changes in the balance of surface mass, relative to changes in solid ice discharge, are vitally important across the Arctic areas and will continue in the future [ 84 ]. For example, the Netherlands, a region crisscrossed by large rivers such as the Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt, is protected by a network of levees. Approximately 59% of its territory is at risk of flooding, 26% is under the sea level and 29% can flood if the rivers overflow. According to the commission that manages the Delta Plan, which addresses the threat of water, a temperature increase of two degrees in the North Sea could mean a rise of between 1 and 2 m.

Scientific studies about New York City reveal that the sea level could rise by 2 m by 2100, endangering the survival of Manhattan, a threat for which the city is already taking measures [ 90 ]. In Florida, the effects of climate change are likely to include flooding associated with rising sea levels, increased invasive species, damage to coral reefs, and increasing frequency of damaging hurricanes. Tide levels along the US eastern seaboard of the United States during the past century were spatially variable, with the relative sea level rising more rapidly along the Mid-Atlantic Bay than along the Bay of the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Maine [ 97 ]. Other authors [ 73 ] state that rising sea levels, tides, extreme weather conditions, high temperatures, and ocean acidification present serious problems that could affect shipping, shipbuilding, the fishing industry, and coastal tourism and even compromise human health and labor-intensive production activities, such as the sea salt industry, sea fishing and the use of seawater.

In our view, there is a need to encourage international cooperation with countries with a lower HDI in aspects related to the BE, CE and BG through the transfer of knowledge, skills, experiences and technologies that will contribute to achieving the SDGs, bringing significant benefits to both the community and the environment.

The BE presents significant challenges at an economic, social, and environmental level, which is why the BG strategy is presented as the key piece of the puzzle to guarantee environmental sustainability and efficient management of the seas and oceans’ resources. In this context, the SDGs imply that economic development is both inclusive and respectful of the environment, and it is necessary to find a balance between economic, social and environmental spaces. For example, one cannot consider eradicating poverty without guaranteeing the health of ocean ecosystems that are fundamental to food security, livelihoods, and economic development. Therefore, it is urgent to set goals with objectives and indicators that demand productive, healthy, and resilient oceans.

As analyzed, BE is a recent term rooted in sustainable development, so it needs more time for it to be adopted by all economic agents, politicians, and society in general. Thanks to the BG Strategy, it is possible to continue with economic activities arising from the seas and oceans in a more sustainable way that reduces the direct and indirect effects of its execution and minimize the negative impact on the ecosystem.

Regarding scientific production related to these concepts, there is a noticeable growing trend in the number of articles published in journals with high impact factors, especially in the last decade, which is evidence of a growing interest in investigating these terms and this novel field. Although in practice, the BE has always been present in the economic activity and the political agenda of all the countries of the world.

Analysis of keyword trends shows the need to protect coastal areas and traditional activities against the marine industry. These include the urgent transformation of large farms, waste treatment, and a commitment to cleaner energy that respects maritime ecosystems. The oceans are recognized as being essential to sustaining life on Earth, and the overexploitation of their resources jeopardizes their ability to continue to provide food, economic benefits, and environmental services to society. Another critical issue is the role that community ecotourism plays within the dynamics of the BE since marine and coastal tourism constitutes one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of tourism. There are sustainability problems related to the marine tourism sector, especially in protected areas, which could be reduced if the BG strategy is further promoted.

The main conclusion of this research is that BE poses some fundamental conflicts of interest. On the one hand, some studies support growth and development, while others prioritize the protection of ocean resources. Thus, it is essential to harness resources and promoting renewable energies with the resources offered by the oceans and seas, create alliances with different stakeholders, unite efforts, and find common elements to continue with the BG, taking into account each community’s problems and constituting a significant global challenge.

One of the limitations of this study is the difficulty in measuring the impacts of economic activity and therefore quantifying the environmental impacts. Therefore, it would be interesting to carry out studies that can provide solid arguments to support it [ 85 , 122 ].

Possible future lines of research on the BE could focus on incorporating this model of the CE since few articles have addressed this aspect jointly. The relationship between BE and CE should go beyond addressing the issue of global marine waste, renewable energy and climate change but rather be an integrated part of the BG strategy, the circular BG strategy in a broader sense: new components and more respectful treatments, less polluting marine minerals, sustainable management and the equitable distribution of marine resources. Regarding the political agenda, there should be specific lines of financing that support research into the CE and sectors of the BE. Together, the two must be integrated to achieve more efficient and sustainable results.

New researchers, experts, public institutions, and private companies who wish to understand the roots of the BE and its evolution over time may find this article useful to design and develop strategies that lead to its efficient management, preservation, and sustainability.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

Abbreviations

Bilateral contracts

• Blue Economy

Blue degrowth

• Blue growth

Circular economy

Energy storage systems

Human Development Index

• Maritime economy
• Marine economy

Micro-turbines

• Ocean economy

Photovoltaic systems

Sustainable development goals

Wind turbines

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Martínez-Vázquez, R.M., Milán-García, J. & de Pablo Valenciano, J. Challenges of the Blue Economy: evidence and research trends. Environ Sci Eur 33 , 61 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-021-00502-1

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Science and research key for a sustainable blue economy

Kenya, together with Canada, Japan and Portugal, hosted a high-level Blue Economy side event on 15 October 2021 in New York on the sidelines of Kenya taking over the Presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of October 2021.

Lawrence Nzuve / lawrence.nzuve@sei.org

Government officials and other dignitaries pose for a group photo after the SBEC book launch. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya.

The event brought together representatives from several country permanent missions in New York and envoys, including Ambassador Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. Other participants included UNESCO-IOC and UNEP representatives, the African Union Commission, the UN Global Compact, various multilateral, private sector, NGO and philanthropic organizations, as well as leading global research and knowledge communities.

The signature objective for the event is the official book launch of Science, Research and Innovation for Harnessing the Blue Economy, which covers the Science and Research Symposium segment of the 2018 Sustainable Blue Economy Conference (SBEC)  that was hosted by the Government of Kenya. The legacy publication is a collaborative initiative between the Government of Kenya and the Stockholm Environment Institute and it represents the critical developments that have taken place since the 2018 conference. The 156-page book highlights a broad range of red-letter topics canvassed by the knowledge community, including the place of science and research in the blue economy, the sustainable use of minerals and energy resources, including deep sea mining, climate change and the blue economy, sustainable shipping, maritime transport and management of coastal zones, as well as the governance and security of the blue economy. It also highlights a barrage of new initiatives triggered by SBEC 2018 and intended to advance the promise of the blue economy globally.

Speaking at the launch event, Amb. Thomson congratulated the Government of Kenya for ensuring the publication of the book, noting that it was “a timely contribution to the repertoire of knowledge, scientific information and innovations that have the potential to influence on-the-ground actions across the world that are necessary to inform SDG 14 and all other SDGs that have a water and ocean dimension.” He added that it remains impossible “to have a healthy planet without a healthy ocean and that a sustainable blue economy is humanity’s only hope for a future that can be bequeathed to the next generation.”

For his part, Dr Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO described the launch as “a timely happening in the first year of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030)”. He added that there is no doubt that the scientific knowledge and innovations showcased at the 2018 Sustainable Blue Economy Conference, which are captured in the book, will be relevant to actions by governments, scientists, civil society and the private sector as they generate “the science we need for the ocean we want”.

“Scientific discourse must be at the centre of interventions aimed at reversing global environmental change which has profound social and human dimensions,” said Dr Ryabinin, adding that the organization is committed to promoting intergovernmental cooperation in order to generate knowledge about the nature and resources of the ocean and coastal areas and to apply that knowledge to the management, sustainable development, marine environment protection and decision-making processes within its Member States.

The side event in New York also builds on momentum for the 2022 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14  scheduled to be co-hosted by Kenya and Portugal in Lisbon in 2022. The decision to host the high-level event in New York is also momentous, as it marks the first year of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development  with the goal “to generate the scientific knowledge and underpinning infrastructure and partnerships needed for sustainable development of the ocean”.

The Nairobi Statement of Shared Intent on Advancing the Blue Economy  , the political outcome of SBEC 2018, acknowledged that science and research are crucial for policy development and implementation, and called for an interdisciplinary approach to science and research that includes biophysical science, law and policy, human geography, and accounting and finance, which are all required in generating state-of-the-art evidence-based knowledge and information to inform policy- and decision making.

“The publication of this book underlines my very strong conviction that scientific knowledge and the unceasing quest for it is the cornerstone of every human advancement,” said Amb. Macharia Kamau, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the Republic of Kenya, who wrote the preface of the newly launched book. He added that he looks forward to an even more robust engagement of African scientists and knowledge and technology communities in the quest for a sustainable blue economy.

The book notes that a key challenge to advancing the promise of blue economy in developing countries, especially in small island development states and Africa in general, is the lack of scientific capacity. The Global Ocean Science Report  concluded that major disparities exist in the capacity around the world to undertake marine scientific research. Through its global strategy for the Ocean and Biodiversity, SEI focuses on bridging science and policy through the quartet identified as sources of marine pollution: coastal resilience and adaptation, governance of the blue economy, commodity-driven land-use change and biodiversity loss.

Our work with climate adaptation in coasts and islands is informing governments around the world on integrating aspects related for example to cascading risks, vulnerabilities and justice into spatial planning and environmental policy

Prof. Måns Nilsson, Executive Director of SEI

Working to strengthen capacity in developing countries, SEI’s regional presence in Asia, Africa and Latin America enables it to develop partnerships and closer working relationships with national governments and regional multilateral institutions. As part of actions to strengthen science for environment and climate diplomacy, SEI Africa collaborates with the Government of Kenya in several other areas, including the lead-up to both the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow and the 2022 UN Ocean Conference.

“While major disparities exist in capacities around the world to undertake blue economy scientific research necessary for proper management of human activities, our success to this end lies in our ability to build partnerships and strengthen synergies,” noted Dr Francis Owino, principal secretary responsible for the Blue Economy of the Government of Kenya.

As part of our commitment to build the scientific knowledge base for informed policy action on blue economy in Africa, supporting the Government of Kenya to publish this book was a natural step for SEI. We are delighted to have made the dream of the book become a reality and are extremely proud of this partnership

Dr Philip Osano, SEI Africa Centre Director

Dr Osano was also a member of the book’s editorial committee that coordinated the compilation and editorial work on the book under Chief Editor Prof. George Outa, an SEI Affiliated Researcher on environment and climate diplomacy.

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EU Blue Economy report 2024: innovation and sustainability drive growth

The new edition of the EU Blue Economy Report is out, offering an in-depth analysis of European blue economy sectors and their performances based on the latest available data. 

The blue economy encompasses all economic activities based on or related to the ocean, seas and coasts. This includes a large variety of economic sectors such as fisheries and aquaculture, coastal tourism, shipping, ports, and marine renewable energy.

The EU blue economy is in good shape overall

The EU blue economy is in good shape, with emerging sectors like ocean energy, blue biotechnology, and desalination leading the way and creating new business opportunities.

The latest data released by Eurostat and referring to 2021, show that the EU blue economy at large

• employs  3.6 million people (+17% compared to 2020)
• has a turnover of nearly  €624 billion  (+ 21% compared to 2020)
• accounts for  €171 billion  in Gross Value Added (+35% compared to 2020)

Key trends 

The report highlights the evolution of the blue economy sectors since 2009, with a special focus on key socio-economic trends between 2020 and 2021. 

Despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the spike in energy prices caused by the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, most of the EU blue economy sectors improved their economic performance, except for coastal tourism, still in recovery in 2021. 

Between 2015 and 2021 there has been a significant increase in nominal GVA in

• Offshore wind energy: + 326%
• Shipbuilding and repair: + 54%
• Maritime transport: + 29%
• Marine living resources: +27% 
• Port activities: + 11%

Leading sectors

More in detail,  coastal tourism remained the largest blue economy sector generating 29% of the EU blue economy GVA in 2021.

In terms of employment,  coastal tourism was also by far the largest blue economy sector (54%). But, it was also the most affected sector by the COVID19 crisis and did not fully recover in 2021. 

Maritime transport is the second largest blue economy sector in turnover, generating nearly a quarter of the EU blue economy GVA in 2021.

The marine renewable energy  sector (mainly offshore wind) also experienced growing trends, with gross profits estimated at €2.4 billion and GVA of €3.3 billion in 2021, marking a 45% increase compared to 2020.

The marine living resources sector (fisheries, aquaculture, processing and distribution of fish products), saw a 24% rise compared to 2020, with gross profits valued at €9.7 billion in 2021. 

Energy transition in the spotlight

This year’s edition delves into the contribution of all blue economy sectors to energy transition . The report shows the significant economic importance of sectors like blue biotechnologies and desalination and shows a significant growth in marine renewable energy. The EU is leading the way in developing energy from waves, tides, and offshore wind. A step forward towards meeting the EU’s renewable energy targets and climate objectives.

Less positive news for the EU fishing fleet as the report shows that, despite a 25% decrease in fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions registered between 2009 and 2021, fuel efficiency has worsened in most recent years due to rising fuel prices.  Since 2023, the  Energy Transition Partnership for EU fisheries and aquaculture sector , an EU-led initiative, supports the transition of the sector to cleaner energy sources, thus helping to reduce the sector’s current dependence on fossil fuels, which is not only environmentally unsustainable, but also makes it vulnerable to energy price increases. 

The impact of climate change: a costly outcome

The new edition of the report illustrates the potential impacts of climate change on the blue economy along the EU coastline.

The analysis shows that if current levels of coastal protection are not raised, the annual economic damages from coastal flooding  could  r each between €137 billion and €814 billion by 2100 under alternative emissions and mitigation scenarios, highlighting the vulnerability of coastal communities living in the EU Outermost Regions in particular.

The EU Blue Economy report is the annual flagship publication of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. It offers an in-depth analysis of the scope and size of the blue economy in the European Union. This year we publish its seventh edition, which presents the latest available data (2021). 

Combined with the  EU Blue Economy Observatory  platform, the report provides an overview of key socio-economic performance indicators per sector, activity, and country. In addition to providing more regular updates, the observatory sheds further light on the potential for economic growth, sustainability transition, and job creation of the blue economy sectors. 

More details about the analytical  methodologies are available via the blue economy observatory website. Further analysis will be published throughout the year, along with the most recent data once it becomes available.

Publication detail

The EU blue economy report 2024

Publication metadata, available languages and formats, english (en).

• Publication details
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• Published: 2024
• Corporate author(s): Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries ( European Commission ) , Joint Research Centre ( European Commission )
• Personal author(s): Borriello, Antonio ;  Calvo Santos, Angel ;  Codina López, Laia ;  Feyen, Luc ;  Gaborieau, Nathan ;  Garaffa, Rafael ;  Ghiani, Michela ;  Guillén, Jordi ;  Mc Govern, Lucie ;  Norman, Ana ;  Peralta Baptista, Ana ;  Petrucco, Giacomo ;  Pistocchi, Alberto ;  Pleguezuelo Alonso, Manuel ;  Quatrini, Simone ;  Tapoglou, Evdokia ;  Abbagnano Trione, Bianca ;  Cappell, Rod ;  Cavaliere, Flavia ;  Chever, Tanguy ;  Herry, Lucas ;  Lloyd-Evans, Meredith ;  Pititto, Alessandro ;  Potier, Julien ;  Vousdoukas, Michalis I
• Themes: Environment — Ecology , Economy — Finance
• Subject: aquaculture , common fisheries policy , environmental economics , environmental impact , exploitation of the seas , fisheries policy , marine ecosystem , marine environment , maritime area , maritime economy , maritime transport , report , sea fishing , shipping policy , sustainable development
• Released on EU Publications: 2024-05-30
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Strengthening the Blue Economy: The Economic Case, Science-Informed Policy, and Transparency 

Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) , this project aims to bring governments and businesses together to commit to and begin implementing policies, programs and investments that advance the transition to a sustainable ocean economy. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) acts as the implementing agency on the project which was approved in December 2019.

Strengthening the Blue Economy is part of Ocean Program . It supports Ocean Watch and part of the research commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) — two projects that also fall under the Ocean Program . 

Less than 5% of the ocean is comprehensively monitored. Much of the current data comes from countries, universities and research institutions, with NGOs and the private sector collecting and producing data on the ocean; only a small percentage of this is open data. Too often policymakers, business leaders and analysts cannot access the data they need to make informed decisions about the environment and human well-being. To build a sustainable ocean economy, ocean data needs to be better monitored, communicated and accessible to all.

The project ‘Strengthening the Ocean Economy’ provides the tools to create a more integrated approach to monitoring ocean health and trends. Its current reports and upcoming data platform aim to help governments and businesses commit to and begin implementing policies, programs and investments that advance the transition to the Blue Economy (sustainable ocean economy). 

Strengthening the Ocean Economy - Project Document.pdf

This project has four components:

Component 1: Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy

This project has contributed to the research and writing of the Ocean Panel's landmark report, Ocean Solutions That Benefit People, Nature & the Economy . The report, launched in December 2020 and written by SYSTEMIQ and the Ocean Panel Expert Group co-chairs, sets out a new ocean narrative.

The report is the culmination of 19 previously commissioned Blue Papers and lays an ambitious and feasible action agenda that governments and businesses can adopt to help achieve a sustainable ocean economy where protection, production and prosperity go hand in hand; people have more opportunities and better health; and nature thrives and resources are distributed more equitably. It focuses on the urgent need for action and a roadmap on how to attain a sustainable ocean economy by 2050. 

Another Ocean Panel-commissioned publication, Transformations for a Sustainable Ocean Economy , was released alongside this report and is endorsed by 14 Ocean Panel Heads of State and Government. The publication calls for international action under five main pillars – ocean wealth, ocean health, ocean equity, ocean knowledge and ocean finance. 

Component 2: Blue Papers substantiating ‘Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy’ recommendations

A series of 16 Blue Papers and special reports were commissioned by the Ocean Panel to form a comprehensive assessment of ocean science and knowledge. These reports will help shape policy, are a part of efforts to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and provide value to the UN Decade of Ocean Science.

The Blue Papers explore some of the most pressing challenges at the nexus of the ocean and the economy; they are independent from and do not represent the thinking of the Ocean Panel. A diverse group of 250 experts representing 48 countries from the Ocean Panel Expert Group — 44% of whom are women — conducted the research for these papers. 

The GEF funding has supported four Blue Papers covering a variety of subjects, including Ocean-Based Renewable Energy & Deep Seabed Minerals , the Human Relationship with Our Ocean , Ocean Finance and Coastal Development .

Many of the Blue Papers have been adapted and released in the science journal Nature and some of its sister journals, including  Challenges to the Sustainability of Deep-Seabed Mining .

This body of work has also informed the Ocean Panel’s deliberations and new ocean action agenda — anchored by a headline commitment from the 14 countries to sustainably manage 100% of their national waters . 

Component 3: ‘Ocean Watch’ beta — online monitoring system to support monitoring of impacts of policies and practices

Launching in the autumn of 2021, Ocean Watch , an open data platform for the global ocean, will provide support for greater integration of data into marine planning. This platform will provide the data, analyses, and visualizations needed to support work in the spatial and integrated management of the ocean. 

Ocean Watch is specifically aimed at supporting national planning entities in the integrated and spatial management of the ocean. Building upon existing datasets, Ocean Watch will provide an integrated source of ocean data, uniting ocean sectors and ensuring holistic ocean management. Potential users and stakeholders’ feedback and priorities will guide the platform’s development and data collection.

This project has also contributed to the development of the interactive Global Coral Reef Profile , which provides consolidated, map-based information and indicators on the value of coral reefs, the threats they are facing, what factors promote reefs resilience as well as the Coral Reef Data Hub , which includes 30 global data sets relevant to coral reefs. Further description and a request for feedback on the profile can be found on the International Core Reef Initiative .

Component 4: Knowledge management and sharing

Through tailored communications and outreach strategies, this project ensures that the outputs and knowledge products from all three components are shared widely to ensure maximum impact and visibility. Outreach is coupled with public awareness campaigns and planned activities, including, but not limited to, op-eds, blogs, podcasts, videos and social media toolkits. 

The project will also disseminate its knowledge products and stories via IW:LEARN , liaise with members of the IW:LEARN community and take part in IW conferences.

Inception Workshop

The Inception Workshop, held in October 2020, introduced the project to a wider audience by presenting the activities under each Component. It was also an opportunity to discuss Component 3, Ocean Watch, in more detail with potential end-users, and for the team to explore the specific data needs and challenges these ocean professionals face. This user needs group has continued to be engaged since the workshop, and their priorities have been taken into account during the development of the Ocean Watch platform.

Inception Report-OCT20.pdf

Inception Workshop Notes-OCT20.pdf

Inception Workshop Powerpoint-OCT20.pdf

Following the workshop, the Inception Report was created to support the Project Document as a key resource in guiding the project implementation process for each of the 4 components. It collates information on the project description and progress to date, outlines the main outputs within each of the components well as going into further detail on the workplan and budget.

This project supports various ocean products, including: 

The Ocean Panel's landmark 2020 report Ocean Solutions That Benefit People, Nature & the Economy .

Ocean Panel-commissioned Blue Papers:

• What Role for Ocean-Based Renewable Energy and Deep-Seabed Minerals in a Sustainable Future?
• The Human Relationship with our Ocean Planet 
• Ocean Finance: Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Ocean Economy  
• Coastal Development: Resilience, Restoration and Infrastructure Requirements
• Ocean Watch beta (launching in autumn 2021).

Photo Credit: Knut Troim on Unsplash .

Project Partners

Related Projects

Ocean Watch

The Ocean Watch open data platform delivers science to policy makers developing sustainable ocean economies and operationalizing integrated ocean management.

Friends of Ocean Action

Friends of Ocean Action is a unique, informal group of over 65 ocean leaders who are fast-tracking solutions to the ocean’s most pressing challenges.

High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy

Also known as the “Ocean Panel,” this unique initiative of 18 serving world leaders aims to build momentum toward a sustainable ocean economy.

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5 Pillars of a New Ocean Agenda

Webinar: The Human Relationship with our Ocean Planet

Webinar: Financing for a Sustainable Ocean Economy: High-Level Dialogue

Webinar: Coastal Development: Resilience, Restoration and Infrastructure Requirements

Webinar: The Link between Ocean Energy and Mineral Resources

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The Potentials and Pitfalls from National Blue Economy Plans Towards Sustainable Development

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Many nations around the world have established or are in the process of developing Blue Economy strategies so that marine management and economies can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Interest in a Blue Economy has also been heightened through a strategic lens of post-COVID-19 economic ...

Keywords : Blue Economy; Sustainable Development; National Policy; Fisheries; Aquaculture; Offshore Energy: Tourism; Marine Conservation

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The EU blue economy report 2024

T he seventh edition of the EU Blue Economy Report, presented in a fresh format, persists in thoroughly examining the scale and breadth of the Blue Economy within the European Union (EU). Its primary aim remains to offer guidance to policymakers and stakeholders in fostering the sustainable advancement of oceans and coastal resources, aligning closely with the principles of the European Green Deal (EGD). By providing economic insights, the Report also aims to inspire potential investors. This seventh edition of the Report focuses on a summarised data analysis, trends and drivers of the Blue Economy sectors. The analysis of the sectors Marine living and non-living resources, Marine renewable energy (offshore wind), Port activities, Shipbuilding and repair, Maritime transport and Coastal tourism is based on data collected by the European Commission from EU Member States and the European Statistical System. Specifically, fisheries and aquaculture data were collected under the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF); data for the other sectors are taken from Eurostat Structural Business Statistics (SBS), PRODCOM, National Accounts and tourism statistics. Along with these sectors, the reader can find relevant information on innovative Blue Economy sectors, namely Desalination and Blue biotechnology.

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Dive into the Top 10 Blue Economy Trends (2024)

How are marine industries enhancing ensuring sustainable and efficient operations? This data-driven industry research focuses on top 10 Blue Economy Trends based on 1955 startups & scaleups. They include marine robotics, pollution management, deep-sea mining, coastal resilience & more.

The blue economy encompasses sustainable and inclusive economic activities in the world’s oceans and coastal areas. With a focus on the conservation, utilization, and management of marine resources, emerging companies and startups work on innovative applications. Major trends in the industry include climate-positive aquaculture, renewable energy integration, and marine biotechnology. This industry research focuses on the top 10 blue economy trends based on our analysis of 1955 emerging companies. They include autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), remote sensing technology for ocean monitoring, offshore wind farms, and desalination technologies. Read more to discover global markets in the blue economy and how they ensure climate-conscious operations.

Innovation Map outlines the Top 10 Blue Economy Trends & 20 Promising Startups

For this in-depth research on the Top Blue Economy Trends & Startups, we analyzed a sample of 1955 global startups & scaleups. This data-driven research provides innovation intelligence that helps you improve strategic decision-making by giving you an overview of emerging technologies in the marine industry. In the Blue Economy Innovation Map, you get a comprehensive overview of the innovation trends & startups that impact your company.

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These insights are derived by working with our Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform , covering 3 790 000+ startups & scaleups globally. As the world’s largest resource for data on emerging companies, the SaaS platform enables you to identify relevant technologies and industry trends quickly & exhaustively.

Tree Map reveals the Impact of the Top 10 Trends in Blue Economy

Based on the Blue Economy Innovation Map, the Tree Map below illustrates the impact of the Top 10 Blue Economy Trends in 2024. In marine robotics, AUVs perform precise ocean monitoring tasks. Government agencies create coastal protection systems to mitigate erosion and storm surges. Blue renewable energy promotes sustainable electricity generation while green maritime shipping that uses renewable energy makes logistics sustainable. Biodegradable packaging from cornstarch or seaweed also reduces ocean plastic pollution and cleaning machines combat contaminants and oil spills.

Startups also develop seabed monitoring platforms to aid deep-sea miners with mine mapping. Further, scientists and researchers utilize marine biomass for pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, and aquaculture. Startups also promote marine biodiversity through artificial reefs and habitat restoration. Lastly, farmers use recirculating aquaculture systems and precision feeding to ensure responsible seafood production. These advances drive the blue economy, preserving biodiversity and promoting conservation.

Top 10 Blue Economy Trends in 2024

• Marine Robotics
• Blue Renewable Energy
• Ocean Pollution Management
• Deep-Sea Mining
• Marine Biotechnology
• Sustainable Aquaculture
• Ocean-Conscious Consumption
• Coastal Resilience
• Green Maritime Shipping
• Marine Biodiversity Enhancement

Global Startup Heat Map covers 1955 Blue Economy Startups & Scaleups

The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the global distribution of the 1955 exemplary startups & scaleups that we analyzed for this research. Created through the StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, the Heat Map reveals that the UK is the blue economy innovation hub, followed by the US and other European countries. Below, you get to meet 20 out of these 1955 promising startups & scaleups as well as the solutions they develop. These blue economy startups are hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, & more. Depending on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely different.

Top 10 Blue Economy Innovation Trends in 2024

1. marine robotics.

Without robots, monitoring and surveillance missions in the seas are time and labor-intensive. Nowadays, marine robots augment manual workflows to replace humans in dangerous environments and accelerate mission timelines. They explore the deep ocean to understand the ocean surface and search for resources like oil and gas. Maritime companies and fisheries also utilize robots for surveying and mapping the ocean floor to protect marine ecosystems and plan sustainable offshore development. Apart from monitoring coral reefs, robots track fish populations to aid fisheries management and ecosystem conservation. Further, robots collect debris, such as plastic or oil, to safeguard marine life and improve ocean quality.

Berkeley Marine Robotics offers an Autonomous Swarm Robot

Berkeley Marine Robotics is a US-based startup that develops an autonomous underwater swarm robotic system to help ships reduce carbon emissions. It focuses on autonomous swarm control and underwater wireless communication to enable fast, low-cost, and automated ship inspections. The system measures and tracks hull-fouling levels to optimize cleaning schedules and increase coating performance. Simultaneously, it flags invasive species to the ports, thereby reducing delays in manual spot checks. These swarm robots enable shipping operators to decrease fuel costs and comply with International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) carbon emission reduction goals.

Ensight Marine Technology makes Marine Inspection Robots

Australian startup Ensight Marine Technology provides underwater inspection robots for the maritime industry. Its remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are suitable for shallow water inspection. The startup combines computer vision and laser pointers to provide fast and effective diameter estimations at different depths. The ROVs also use top-view cameras and image-stitching technology to capture high-quality data for maritime asset condition monitoring. Ensight Marine Technology’s ROVs make the process of asset condition assessment more efficient and save significant time for maritime consultants and asset managers.

2. Blue Renewable Energy

Offshore renewable energy companies develop technologies for wave power, tidal power, and ocean thermal energy conversion. They enable clean and reliable energy for coastal communities as well as power marine operations. For example, wave energy systems capture the kinetic energy of ocean waves and convert it into electricity. Utilities also establish tidal power turbines in locations such as estuaries to enhance tidal range. They also leverage ocean thermal energy by using the temperature difference between warm surface water and cold deep water to generate power. Moreover, ocean waves and tides are more reliable and predictable than other renewable sources like wind. Therefore, energy producers integrate marine energy with wind or solar power systems to maximize energy production.

Paddle Power Energy develops Tidal Power Turbines

Paddle Power Energy is a UK-based startup that deploys tidal energy turbines. The company’s technology utilizes a linear water wheel design that is more efficient and cost-effective than traditional tidal turbines. This allows the turbines to be water surface-based, reducing their cost and enabling operation in shallow depths of water. The design also avoids the creation of a vortex wake to maximize ongoing servicing, maintenance efficiencies, and total power output. Due to the low cost of production and readily available parts, Paddle Power Energy’s turbines are built easily in any commercial shipyard. With a low cost of decommissioning, it provides a reliable, sustainable, and cost-effective source of energy for businesses and general use.

TWEFDA provides a Wave Energy Converter (WEC)

Scottish startup TWEFDA develops ES-Wave , a wave energy converter that generates or stores wave energy on demand. It converts the reciprocating heave of waves into electrical energy and also functions as an energy storage device. Using the tidal range, the machine delivers more energy than what it absorbs, making it a versatile and efficient energy source to meet both baseload and peak demand. The startup also uses an insulated box to protect fauna from noise and employs an eco-friendly fluid to prevent marine ecosystem pollution in case of spillage. ES-Wave thus offers a higher capacity factor, smaller spatial footprint, continuous resource availability, and easier maintenance compared to regular wind turbines.

3. Ocean Pollution Management

The presence of plastics and other inorganic waste leads to the death of marine life and ultimately affects the quality of life globally. Emerging companies develop innovative solutions to manage ocean pollution like marine cleanup robots and waste-eating bacteria. Some also develop microplastic filters to remove plastic particles and promote climate-conscious operations to minimize wastage. Startups also develop biodegradable alternatives to plastic packaging, which is the largest contributor to marine pollution. Companies tackling ocean pollution also employ oil-absorbent sponges or hydrogels to clean up oil spills. These solutions reduce the pollutants entering the ocean, protecting marine life and coastal communities.

Sheco facilitates Robotic Oil Spill Recovery

Sheco is a South Korean startup that develops Sheco Ark , a robot to clean up oil spills in water bodies. Its key functions include product transportation, product deployment, oil recovery, and oil discharge. The robot is considerably lightweight and also supports remote control or autonomous operation. After deployment in an oil spill region, Sheco Ark moves around oil spills, intakes the oily water, filters the oil, and then releases the water back while retaining the oil for disposal. The robots are also able to work in dangerous and remote environments, making them ideal for cleaning up oil spills in hard-to-reach areas.

PurOceans makes a Deep Water Rehabilitation System

Latvian startup PurOceans utilizes its air bubble technology to remove oil, microplastic, and chemical pollution from the seabed. The startup’s deep water rehabilitation system features a flotation method that does not require excavation, chemicals, or electricity. The technology uses air bubbles to separate pollution from sand and soil at the bottom of the seabed. It also avoids the use of chemicals and excavation, preserving waterbodies and enriching it with oxygen. PurOceans’ technology helps environmental conservation brands clean up the oceans while also improving the health of marine ecosystems.

4. Deep-Sea Mining

In the field of deep-sea mining, emerging innovations include remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) and novel extraction technologies. They improve the efficiency and sustainability of seabed mining processes. For instance, mining companies use heavy-duty ROVs with manipulator arms to mine mineral-rich nodules and ore deposits. They also leverage hydraulic systems and suction dredging to collect minerals without harming the marine ecosystem. Further, real-time environmental monitoring systems assess the ecological impact of mining. Innovations in resource recovery and processing, such as hydrocyclones and magnetic separators, optimize mineral extraction by minimizing waste. Lastly, deep-sea miners rely on deep-sea power generation and communication systems to support efficient mining operations.

Bluefield Geoservices delivers Offshore Geotechnical Surveys

Bluefield Geoservices is a UK-based startup that facilitates offshore geotechnical surveys for deep-sea mining companies. The startup deploys tools like cone penetration testing, samplers, and T-Bar test equipment using underwater ROVs. The ROVs collect data on the seabed in all water depths. Operators use the cone system to deploy a lightweight unit for in situ soil testing or sampling using an ROV, trenching machine, or similar subsea equipment. By providing data on the seabed, Bluefield Geoservices mitigates the risks of accidents and injuries as well as improves the efficiency of offshore mining operations.

Glex facilitates Collaborative Mining

Norwegian startup Glex develops Glex Energy , an analysis and collaboration SaaS platform for energy and seabed mining companies. It helps teams create, organize, and analyze a digital twin of mining site exploration data for analysis. The platform also provides a global mapping interface digital elevation models and point clouds that allow users to view the mine or seabed data in both 2D and 3D domains. This visual representation aids in planning mining operations, identifying potential risks, and optimizing extraction processes. The Glex Energy platform assists in seabed mining by providing tools for portfolio management, data analysis, visualization, and collaboration. This, in turn, streamlines the management of mining assets, facilitates data-driven decision-making, optimizes mining operations, and ensures compliance with environmental regulations.

5. Marine Biotechnology

The applications of marine biotechnology, such as cytarabine and antiviral azidothymidine from sponges, revolutionize cancer and viral treatments, energy production, and more. Researchers study marine microorganisms for their unique metabolic capabilities, enabling the production of enzymes, biofuels, and bioremediation agents. This enables advances across industries. Omega-3 fatty acids from algae or fish oil, for example, improve cardiovascular health and brain function. Companies are also developing ocean-sourced bioplastics to offer biodegradable and renewable alternatives to conventional plastics. Additionally, marine biotechnology deploys marine organisms and enzymes to clean up pollution and oil spills, ensuring environmentally friendly bioremediation.

Marine BioEnergy manufacturers Kelp-based Biomass

Marine BioEnergy is a US-based startup that accelerates underwater kelp farming to produce biomass for fuel, feed, and food. The startup grows kelp attached to large grids in the ocean by permanently towing it with inexpensive automated robotic submarines. This allows the kelp to grow in the extensive regions of the ocean with access to sunlight and nutrients. The startup then processes the kelp into biocrude, which it uses to create renewable energy, animal feed, and other products. Moreover, Marine BioEnergy leverages hydrothermal liquefaction and catalytic hydrothermal gasification to process wet kelp into bio-oil. These technologies provide a sustainable and scalable source of renewable energy from ocean kelp.

TeOra manufactures a Vaccine for Aquaculture

Singaporean startup TeOra manufactures a vaccine for disease and pest management in aquaculture. The startup derives high-quality ingredients from microbial cell cultures to develop these biologicals. It also develops tailor-made biotechnology solutions with collaboration and co-development for clients. Using microfluidics and AI, TeOra offers faster and cheaper genetic reprogramming to design smart micro-organisms in shorter time periods. This vaccine enables fish farmers to replace pesticides, antibiotics, and other harmful chemicalswhile ensuring healthier shrimps and fishes.

6. Sustainable Aquaculture

Current aquaculture practices pollute water systems by discharging excess nutrients and fecal matter into oceans. Sustainable aquaculture embraces innovative techniques like recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) to reuse water, conserve resources, and reduce pollution. Fishery companies also use integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) to combine fish species and utilize nutrients more efficiently whilst increasing output. Offshore aquaculture reduces conflict with other users of coastal resources and minimizes the impacts on sensitive coastal ecosystems. Further, fisheries utilize recycled fish feeds or algae-based products to reduce the pressure on wild fisheries. These innovations drive the sustainability of aquaculture while minimizing the environmental impact and maximizing the efficiency of marine resources.

Ittinsect creates a Sustainable Fish Feed

Ittinsect is an Italian startup that develops Ittinsect Feed , a sustainable feed for aquaculture. The startup produces an insect-based fish feed that is rich in protein and nutrients as well as is more absorbable for fish digestion. This results in faster and more constant growth, a stronger immune system, and a lower risk of digestive inflammation in fish. The startup’s feed also generates fewer emissions than traditional feeds. It thus enables fish farmers to provide sustainable and high-output aquaculture yields while reducing their environmental impact.

Aqua Development advances Aquamimicry

South Korean startup Aqua Development uses KAMI sys , an aquamimicry technology to produce sustainable aquaculture products. The startup mimics the natural environmental conditions and factors of aquatic life in an indoor farm. KAMI sys provides more productivity than traditional methods with higher survival rates and resilience to disease for shrimps. It is also cost-effective and easily applicable to different types of aquatic animals. This allows Aqua Development to produce high-quality and organic shrimp without using harmful chemicals or antibiotics.

7. Ocean-Conscious Consumption

Consumers are increasingly choosing ocean-conscious products to protect the health and well-being of the oceans. In response, companies experiment with biodegradable and compostable packaging materials made from cornstarch or seaweed to reduce plastic pollution. Cosmetic brands are developing personal care products with natural, biodegradable ingredients to avoid harming marine life and water pollution. Startups are also promoting sustainable seafood practices to minimize overfishing and ensure seafood availability for the future. Textile and clothing companies are incorporating sustainable materials like recycled ocean plastic to reduce the fashion industry’s environmental impact. Additionally, the fishing industry is embracing innovative designs such as biodegradable nets and smart nets to reduce harm to marine life. These collective efforts demonstrate a shared commitment to preserving the oceans for generations to come.

Lumière provides Recycled Ocean Plastic Fabric

Lumière is a French startup that collects and recycles ocean plastic to manufacture active-wear clothing. The startup utilizes plastic waste from oceans and landfill to create its recycled fabric ECONYL . The fabric also possesses muscle-compressing properties which decrease the production of lactic acid in the wearer’s body, thus aiding recovery time after workouts. Lumière formulates ECONYL with ultraviolet light protection, making it highly resistant to color-fading chlorine and sunscreen lotions. This ocean plastic-derived fabric enables Lumiere to manufacture sustainable clothing for athletes while aiding in the cleaning up of our oceans.

SCALE develops a Fish-Scale Biomaterial

French startup SCALE creates SCALITE , a sustainable material made from fish scales – a byproduct of aquaculture. The startup collects fish scales from sustainable fisheries to extract the collagen and transform them into durable, water-resistant tiles, sheets, and blocks. SCALE extracts a natural biopolymer contained within fish scales to create the basis for SCALITE . The high-performance material offers water resistance, thermal insulation, and fire retardancy. Hospitality and retail companies use SCALITE for building interiors and decoration. SCALE’s material is a circular and ocean-friendly solution that reduces aquaculture waste while creating new opportunities for product design and development.

8. Coastal Resilience

Government agencies develop and employ coastal resilience strategies to enhance the ability of coastal areas to withstand and recover from the impacts of natural disasters and climate change. Researchers develop advanced modeling techniques and real-time monitoring systems to predict areas at high risk of flooding. Early warning systems further provide timely alerts to residents and authorities, enabling evacuation and emergency response efforts. Architects design floating homes and buildings that adapt to changing water levels and reduce vulnerability to floods. Additionally, communities implement techniques such as constructing offshore breakwaters or submerged barriers to help dissipate wave energy before it reaches the coast. This reduces the impact of storms and erosion on coastal communities.

Scientia Maris simplifies Coastal Monitoring

Scientia Maris is a Greek startup that makes software modules for coastal monitoring and planning. It combines satellite imagery and AI for the prediction of wave propagation and transformation in the nearshore. This enables the efficient planning and design of coastal protection works and port layouts. Environmental agencies use it to analyze the risks and impacts of coastal hazards, such as erosion, flooding, and storms. It also simulates the propagation of waves in different directions, enabling the study of wave disturbances in ports, harbors, and coastal areas. Further, analysis of seabed sediments enables researchers to understand areas of seabed erosion and predict possible coastal calamities. Scientia Maris’s platform provides decision support and visualization to help stakeholders plan and implement adaptation strategies, enhancing their capacity to cope with coastal challenges.

Reask facilitates Global Risk Mapping

Australian startup Reask develops AI-based global risk mapping software and modules that focus on natural hazard prediction and simulation. For example, its DeepCyc , ForeCyc , HindCyc , and Metryc help environmental organizations forecast their exposure to catastrophic events. HindCyc and Metryc provide tropical cyclone wind maps and landfall predictions, enabling residents to take precautionary measures and/or evacuate in time. DeepCyc and ForeCyc offer global probabilistic hazard maps, historical and stochastic event catalogs, and risk trend forecasting using climate signals. Reask’s modules cover all aspects of natural catastrophe risk analytics, from tail risk assessment to probabilistic trend forecasting and event reconstructions. This enables users to accurately understand and predict natural hazards, and make decisions to trigger appropriate coastal resilience measures.

9. Green Maritime Shipping

Maritime shipping companies employ alternative fuels like liquified natural gas (LNG), biofuels, hydrogen, and ammonia to reduce emissions. They utilize electric, hybrid, and auxiliary propulsion systems with batteries, fuel cells, and hybrids to further cut emissions. The industry is also relying on aerodynamic hull designs, air lubrication, waste heat recovery, LED lighting, and smart energy management to optimize fuel efficiency. Additionally, shipping companies install scrubbers in ship exhausts to remove sulfur dioxide and pollutants for air pollution control. Some also use ballast water treatment systems to neutralize harmful organisms, minimizing ecological impact. Data analytics, AI, and the Internet of Things (IoT) further enable better route planning, optimized vessel performance, and real-time monitoring of emissions and energy consumption. These innovations drive the maritime industry towards sustainability and a lower ecological footprint.

Spaera builds a Net Zero Ship Prototype

Spaera is a UK-based maritime startup that offers Project Lovelock , a net-zero emission prototype ship for the shipping industry. It leverages green methanol fuel cells to power its engines, eliminating harmful emissions and reducing fuel costs. The ship also employs an automated sails system to provide propulsive power under normal conditions. This reduces crew workload and uses adverse weather conditions to its advantage. Project Lovelock also utilizes a battery rechargeable via inbuilt solar panels to ensure sufficient energy even when the ship is at the port. Spaera’s ship offers a way for shipping companies to reduce emissions and save money while maintaining their current level of efficiency and productivity.

ESG-NRG aids Maritime Carbon Offsetting

Norwegian startup ESG-NRG offers a marine offset platform (MOP). It features a suite of tools and services that allow maritime shipping companies to track, measure, and offset their carbon emissions. MOP utilizes algorithms that consider the vessel, cargo, and operational variables to estimate emissions. It then offers quality carbon credits from pre-screened projects that align with sustainable development goals (SDGs). The platform also allows shipping companies to share their carbon certificates and mitigation strategies on the public carbon ledger and gain recognition for their ESG efforts. ESG-NRG helps them attract new customers, enhance their reputation, appeal to green capital, and boost their net zero commitments.

10. Marine Biodiversity Enhancement

With the rise in excess fishing and mining activities, marine biodiversity is being hit hard. Some environmental companies and startups are developing technologies and strategies to preserve and enhance the quantity and quality of marine life. Artificial reef structures leverage materials like concrete, steel, or sunken ships to provide new habitats for marine organisms to thrive. Governmental agencies set up marine protected areas (MPA) as specific zones where they regulate human activities to protect marine biodiversity. Some environmental research companies also employ techniques like coral gardening to cultivate and transplant coral fragments onto damaged reefs. Further, 3D printing of artificial coral structures provides a substrate for coral colonization.

Archireef develops 3D-Printed Artificial Corals

Chinese startup Archireef uses 3D printing to create artificial coral reefs. The startup combines computer programming, 3D printing, and traditional clay-making techniques to ensure that tiles do not crack or change shape during the drying and firing process. It designs its reef tiles using terracotta to provide a safe and stable habitat for marine life. The startup also provides a range of benefits for the ocean, such as increased fish populations, improved water quality, and reduced erosion. Archireef modules are easy to install and deploy in a variety of marine environments. This makes the startup’s solution a cost-effective and scalable means for businesses looking to improve marine biodiversity.

Kelp Blue facilitates Ocean Re-Wilding

Kelp Blue is a Dutch startup that leverages rewilding to help mitigate climate change. It grows and manages large-scale kelp forests, which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their tissues. Kelp forests also provide food and shelter for marine life, and manufacturers harvest kelp for sustainable products such as fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and textiles. Kelp forests provide ecosystem functions, habitat for biodiversity, and benefits like reducing local acidity, raising oxygen levels and improving water conditions. Kelp Blue’s ocean rewilding technique is scalable and cost-effective, making it a viable solution for marine biodiversity enhancement.

Discover all Blue Economy Trends, Technologies & Startups

Researchers and entrepreneurs are actively exploring untapped opportunities within our oceans and water bodies. They are developing cost-effective ocean desalination methods such as forward osmosis (FO) to deliver a sustainable source of fresh water for coastal communities. It supports agriculture, industries, and human consumption. Underwater robotics also holds promise in various sectors, such as deep-sea exploration, offshore infrastructure maintenance, and underwater resource extraction. The Blue Economy innovations & trends outlined in this report only scratch the surface of trends that we identified during our data-driven innovation & startup scouting process. Identifying new opportunities & emerging technologies to implement into your business goes a long way in gaining a competitive advantage.

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Blue economy: how business leaders and scientists are improving ocean health

Global business are solving the biggest challenges facing a sustainable blue economy to improve ocean health Image:  UNSPLASH

SDG14 Financing Landscape Scan: Tracking Funds to Realize Sustainable Outcomes for the Ocean

Decision-Making on Deep-Sea Mineral Stewardship: A Supply Chain Perspective

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Stay up to date:, nature and biodiversity.

• Friends of Ocean Action at the World Economic Forum, alongside partners, is bringing together global business leaders and scientists to tackle climate change, equity and biodiversity loss.
• The 100 largest companies by revenue in the blue economy earned over $1 trillion in 2018.
• The Ocean 100 Dialogues offer an opportunity for companies to exchange best practices and lead collectively on corporate ocean stewardship.

The impact on ocean health.

From the Pacific to the Arctic, humans are causing the ocean to warm, rise and become more acidic. As a result of the Ocean 100 study , global ocean businesses have responded to a call from scientists to collaborate and drive action for ocean health.

Many ocean-based industries such as offshore wind and cruise tourism are growing faster than the global economy and, in many cases, exponentially , in what has been called a “blue acceleration”. According to pre-pandemic data, the 100 largest companies by revenue in the blue economy earned an estimated 60% of all revenues from activities connected to the ocean in 2018. In real terms this amounts to approximately $1.1 trillion. This group – the Ocean 100 – comprises the world’s biggest businesses set to benefit from economic use of the ocean.

Given their size and influence, these companies are in a unique position to lead transformative change across industries including travel and tourism, energy, oil and gas and shipping and transportation. As the UN Decade of Ocean Science began, the World Economic Forum and the Friends of Ocean Action partnered with Duke University , Lancaster University, Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, McKinsey & Company and the World Ocean Council, in close collaboration with the UN Global Compact , and created the Ocean 100 Dialogues to drive positive impact.

The Ocean 100 Dialogues initiative is convening leaders across the blue economy to create a science-business platform to protect the ocean and accelerate voluntary projects to solve the biggest challenges facing a sustainable and equitable blue economy. This initiative is driving cross-industry corporate action by engaging the world’s largest ocean-dependent companies including Ørsted , Total Energies , Carnival Cruises, Neptune Energy, and others. Companies will share their expertise and develop science-based corporate initiatives for more equitable and sustainable ocean use.

The challenge with protecting the ocean health.

As global populations and economies grow, the world needs more from the ocean – food, energy, materials and space. But this growth in demand has often been accompanied by trajectories of degradation and inequity in access and benefits from ocean use.

Ocean-based industries provide income, stimulate growth and generate new opportunities. They have also, however, contributed to the degradation of marine ecosystems, conflicts with small-scale users and the loss of biodiversity that often affects lower-income, coastal and island states the most.

One pressing challenge is to sustain healthy ocean ecosystems as economic activity continues to expand and climate impacts accelerate while maintaining access for traditional and small-scale uses . Yet the ocean is also inextricably linked to much broader global sustainable development goals – including increased resilience to climate change and improved social equity.

"At TotalEnergies, our ambition is to become a major player in the energy transition. We are fully aware of the challenges of marine environments and biodiversity related to our offshore oil, gas and wind activities. On these matters, collaboration is of essence to make sustainable progress. Joining the Ocean 100 initiative motivates us to upgrade our global consciousness and action plans in favour of the ocean; it is also a platform to learn from other major ocean multinationals and take action to promote a sustainable ocean economy."

Our approach to supporting a sustainable blue economy.

The Ocean 100 Dialogues is driving collective stewardship across ocean-linked industries to generate global impact and address the connectivity between ocean health and broader net zero and sustainable development objectives.

Through these science-based dialogues, companies and scientists are co-creating commitments and actions that address unresolved ocean-wide challenges while raising the bar for new industry norms and standards to meet the SDGs.

Sustainability efforts across the Ocean 100 companies and the sectors they represent often operate in silos. The Ocean 100 Dialogues offer an opportunity for companies to support existing efforts by governments and civil society to lead on corporate ocean stewardship in the blue economy.

By addressing ocean-wide challenges, the Ocean 100 Dialogues is working towards a sustainable and equitable ocean economy and contributing to the achievement of global targets agreed at COP15. In 2022, science-business dialogues intensified around blue carbon investments as an innovative tool to conserve coastal ecosystems. This has enhanced knowledge sharing and resulted in a number of voluntary initiatives from member companies, which are expected to strengthen this emerging carbon market as well as benefiting the ocean and coastal communities beyond carbon sequestration.

In 2023, members of Ocean 100 Dialogues are exploring cross-industry commitments to achieve net-positive marine biodiversity impact. These initiatives include mapping operational overlaps with ocean biodiversity to improve transparency. This work could support a synchronized data platform for robust area-based management measures to conserve biodiversity.

The majority of companies connected with the Ocean 100 have already placed sustainability high on the agenda, with a particular focus on climate change. Working with the Friends of Ocean Action community and engaging in the Ocean 100 Dialogues will ensure these commitments are acted on urgently while expanding the blue economy.

How can you get involved?

We welcome your ideas, feedback and expression of interest in this cross-industry and science-business initiative.

Companies and organizations interested in contributing to the dialogues are invited to engage now around the current sprints on blue carbon and marine biodiversity loss, and to help shape future sprints. Find out more about the Ocean 100 Dialogues and get in touch here .

To get connected and involved as a partner of the World Economic Forum, contact us .

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What is the blue economy?

The blue economy, or the ocean economy, is a term used to describe the economic activities associated with the oceans and seas. The World Bank defines the blue economy as the “sustainable use of ocean resources to benefit economies, livelihoods and ocean ecosystem health”. The activities commonly understood to represent the blue economy include maritime shipping, fishing and aquaculture, coastal tourism, renewable energy, water desalination, undersea cabling, seabed extractive industries and deep sea mining, marine genetic resources, and biotechnology.

The blue economy is estimated to be worth more than US$1.5 trillion per year globally. It provides over 30 million jobs and supplies a vital source of protein to over three billion people. While it has been eclipsed in recent years by a greater focus on the ‘green economy’ (that is, the role of primarily land-based activities in the economic transformation required to transition to a low-carbon future), a renewed interest in the blue economy (also sometimes referred to ‘blue growth’) is indicated by the OECD prediction that the ocean economy may double in size to $3 trillion by 2030 .

There is also increasing investment by governments and companies in nature-based solutions to climate change provided by the oceans. These include carbon sequestration, coastal protection, biodiversity conservation and waste management.

How do the oceans contribute to sustainable development?

There is a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) dedicated to oceans: number 14, ‘Life Below Water ’ aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. It sets out seven targets for a sustainable ocean economy by 2030. So far, progress towards reaching these goals has been limited . There have been some small improvements in the sustainability of fisheries and an expansion of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), but these cover only around 7.5% of the oceans.

How are the oceans governed?

Governance of the ocean and the blue economy is both complex and potentially difficult to implement, which has led to fragmented approaches to the sharing of marine resources between nations and impeded understanding of the environmental impacts of the blue economy. Ocean-related regulations apply to Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), which include territorial waters, archipelagos, and the area of sea that extends 200 nautical miles out from countries’ coastlines. The remaining area is called the High Seas (or ‘open ocean’) and accounts for 64% of the world’s oceans.

In March 2023, an historic agreement was reached at the United Nations for a High Seas Treaty which aims to place 30% of the world’s oceans into MPAs to protect wildlife and ensure equal access to  marine genetic resources . It also allocates more funds to marine conservation and will mean new rules for deep sea mining. The Treaty will establish a Conference of the Parties (CoP) for oceans, in the same vein as the climate and biodiversity COPs.

Other international agreements on ocean governance that impact the blue economy include: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which sets out the legal regime for activities on the oceans and seas along with State responsibilities; the Port States Measures Agreement (PSMA), which seeks to prevent, deter and illuminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing through management at Port States; Guidelines for Small Scale Fisheries; and IMO 2023, the International Maritime Organization’s regulations on global shipping.  

How can action on the oceans benefit the climate?

We know that the oceans play an important role in regulating the Earth’s temperature, absorbing carbon dioxide, and supporting biodiversity and livelihoods. But we are only just starting to recognise the extent to which the blue economy impacts climate change.

The High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy estimates that the ocean economy can deliver 21% of the greenhouse gas emission reductions needed to meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting average global temperature rise to 1.5°C by 2050. It also suggests that a significant increase in sustainable food production from the oceans (often called ‘blue food’, and including fisheries, seaweed and fish aquaculture and mariculture) could meet the demands of a growing global population and reduce the pressure on land-based food systems. Positive climate benefits can also be generated through ocean finance (or ‘ blue finance ‘) – the financial tools and investment required to reach a sustainable ocean economy – through which every $1 invested in ocean action could return $5 in benefits .

This Explainer was written by Darian McBain.

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The Government of Canada outlines the next steps for Canada’s blue economy

From: Fisheries and Oceans Canada

News release

Oceans are vital to the livelihoods of communities across Canada. They have the potential to be part of climate solutions, create more opportunities for coastal and inland communities, and contribute to a more sustainable and prosperous blue economy.

June 3, 2024

Halifax, Nova Scotia -  Oceans are vital to the livelihoods of communities across Canada. They have the potential to be part of climate solutions, create more opportunities for coastal and inland communities, and contribute to a more sustainable and prosperous blue economy.

Today, at the H2O conference in Halifax, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced the publication of the Blue Economy Regulatory Roadmap. This roadmap outlines actions the Government of Canada will take to support innovation and economic growth in Canada’s oceans. It focuses on five main areas: marine renewable energy and environmental protection, marine spatial planning, maritime autonomous surface ships, ocean technology, and sustainable fishing gear and practices. The Roadmap responds to what we heard from Canadians during months of public consultation and offers paths to support communities and businesses that rely on the ocean economy to make long-term investments in solutions that enable innovation and advance sustainability.

The development of the roadmap was led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in partnership with Natural Resources Canada, Transport Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and the National Research Council of Canada, as part of the Targeted Regulatory Reviews initiative coordinated by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Canada needs healthy ocean spaces to transform our ocean economy to a sustainable blue economy. This roadmap will help drive enduring results by advancing a Government-wide approach that understands how better protection for the oceans is key to prosperous livelihoods and communities. 

“Our oceans hold immense potential to combat climate change and drive sustainable economic growth. This Roadmap marks a significant stride towards eliminating barriers for businesses that rely on the ocean to grow in a sustainable way, which will deliver widespread benefits for all Canadians.” The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

"Canada’s marine sector is critical to our economy and our supply chains. By developing new technologies, we're supporting and enhancing innovation across the blue economy. The Blue Economy Strategy complements and aligns with our ongoing work under the Oceans Protections Plan, which continues to make marine shipping safer, improve protections for marine ecosystems and species, and strengthen how we prevent and respond to marine incidents.” The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport

“Canadian innovators are leaders in the development of ocean technology products and services, driving the transition towards a thriving and sustainable blue economy. The Roadmap is instrumental in fostering the environment these innovators needs to accelerate the development and commercialization of their solutions, thereby positioning themselves to take advantage of global export opportunities.” The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Oceans are among Canada’s most important natural resources. This Roadmap will allow us to better protect our ocean waters and industries. In turn, these new protections will support sustainable economic growth and innovation while prioritizing the health, safety, and security of Canadians and the environment they value and depend on.” The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

“The National Research Council of Canada is proud to contribute to the implementation of the Blue Economy Regulatory Roadmap by leveraging our Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Research Centre's unique expertise to advance ocean technologies and autonomous ships and support Canada’s blue economy.” Mitch Davies, President, National Research Council of Canada

“We are implementing over 100 distinct regulatory modernization initiatives across different sectors and themes, which now includes Canada’s blue economy. This is a concrete example of how our government is modernizing regulations and supporting sustainable economic growth, while maintaining strong health, safety, security, and environmental protections. We will continue to cut red tape and support the Canadian economy.”  The Honourable Anita Anand, President of the Treasury Board

Quick facts

In 2022, DFO and TBS launched the Blue Economy Regulatory Review (BERR), which looked at how regulation affects ocean innovation. The review examined regulatory practices that are bottlenecks to economic growth and innovation, while continuing to prioritize health, safety, security, and environmental responsibilities in the blue economy. 

As a part of the BERR, DFO and the TBS invited Canadians to share their views on how regulation affects ocean innovation, barriers to environmentally sustainable growth, and ways to develop agile regulations to address concerns of future-oriented ocean industries.

Fish and seafood are among the largest single food commodities exported by Canada. In 2023, Canada exported over $7.6 billion worth of fish and seafood to 115 countries.

Associated links

• Blue Economy Regulatory Roadmap
• What We Heard Report on the Blue Economy Regulatory Review Engagement
• Canada’s Blue Economy
• Sustainable Fisheries in Canada
• Marine Spatial Planning

Jérémy Collard Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard [email protected]

Media Relations Fisheries and Oceans Canada 613-990-7537 [email protected]

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• Follow Fisheries and Oceans Canada on X , Facebook , Instagram and YouTube .
• Follow the Canadian Coast Guard on X , Facebook , Instagram and YouTube .

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Research Reports

Opportunities in the Caribbean Blue Economy-Full Report

The Blue Economy — a marriage between sustainable development and green growth — has huge potential benefits, especially for the Caribbean, a region known for its seas. For small island nations, the ocean provides resources and offers a rich set of opportunities for sustainable and equitable development that benefit communities and local economies. By World Bank’s estimates, the value of the ocean economy in the Caribbean is around US$407 billion. Today, momentum is building behind efforts to realize this uncharted, Caribbean Blue Economy promise.

Looking to support sustainable Blue Economy initiatives and government efforts in the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank turned to a coalition among Future of Fish, Economic Transformation Group, and the World Ocean Council to identify trends in technology and innovation in the Blue Economy, and map those opportunities to the Caribbean context. Bringing our expertise in pattern-finding, FoF supported the team to identify promising emergent and existing Blue Economy opportunity areas throughout the region. These areas point to where energy and resources can be focused to accelerate and maximize success of projects that uplift communities, improve local economies, and preserve and protect the ocean ecosystem upon which all these innovations depend.

This kind of future-looking opportunities research is in our DNA: from our early days, Future of Fish has been oriented towards innovation, systemic trends, and sniffing out the entrepreneurs and visionaries working to grow their field and support their communities. Adapting our traditional Discovery approach to include a foresighting analysis, we did a high-level scan of the current state and momentum within mature and more nascent Blue Economy sectors from fishing (of course!) to tourism to marine products to offshore energy production.

With these opportunity areas charted we were ready to dive into what we love best: talking to people on the ground, learning from experts, and gleaning insights from the people already doing the work. This revealed potential barriers and found areas where conditions and interests align for Blue Economy initiatives to launch and grow. Of course, 2020 had other ideas. The pandemic kept us grounded, while contacts and allies in governments and industry around the Caribbean had their plates full and their attention fixed (understandably!) on executing timely responses to the present situation. Undeterred, we pivoted to phone calls and remote research, speaking to a range of experts to find out where exciting new models and innovation are emerging within the Caribbean and where barriers are blocking progress.

As always, our findings were clear: that oceans are about more than just fish. If you want to have thriving oceans you also need thriving communities, diversified industry, which requires a “just” Blue Economy that’s truly blue — this means equitable access to economic benefit for local communities, and one where economic activities help build ocean environmental sustainability and resiliency. We’re excited about the final report, which lays out a set of action plans for the kinds of policies that companies and governments could make to help advance a thriving and just Caribbean Blue Economy. By unlocking change and building economic opportunities that center equity and resilience, we can work together to elevate communities and environmental success across industries and across regions.

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Controlling ion transport for a blue energy future

Researchers from Osaka University show the control of ion passage through a nanopore membrane by applying a voltage to a gate electrode, paving the way for sustainable blue energy harvesting.

Blue energy has the potential to provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. In simple terms, it involves harnessing the energy produced when the ions in a salt solution move from high to low concentrations. A team including researchers from Osaka University has probed the effect of voltage on the passage of ions through a nanopore membrane to demonstrate greater control of the process.

In a study recently published in ACS Nano the researchers looked at tailoring the flow of ions through the array of nanopores that make up their membrane, and how this control could make applying the technology on a large scale a reality.

If the membranes are made from a charged material, nanopores can cause a current to flow through them by attracting solution ions with the opposite charge. The ions with the same charge can then move through the pore generating the current. This means that the pore material is very important and choosing it has been the means of controlling the flow and current to date.

However, producing the exact same pore structures in a range of different materials to understand their comparative performances is challenging. The researchers therefore decided to investigate another way of tailoring the flow of ions across nanopore membranes.

"Instead of simply using the basic surface charge of our membrane to dictate the flow, we looked at what happens when voltages are applied," explains study lead author Makusu Tsutsui. "We used a gate electrode embedded across the membrane to control the field through voltage in a similar way to how semiconductor transistors work in conventional circuits."

The researchers found that with no voltage applied there was no charge generated by the flow of cations -- positively charged ions -- because they were attracted to the negatively charged membrane surface.

However, if different voltages were applied, this performance could be tuned to allow cations to flow, even providing complete selectivity for cations. This led to a six-fold increase in the osmotic energy efficiency.

"By enhancing the charge density at the surface of the nanopores that make up the membrane, we achieved a power density of 15 W/m 2 ," says senior author Tomoji Kawai. "This is very encouraging in terms of progressing the technology."

The study findings reveal the potential for scaling nanopore membranes for everyday application. It is hoped that nanopore osmotic power generators will provide a means of bringing blue energy to the mainstream for a more sustainable energy future.

• Energy Technology
• Energy and Resources
• Nature of Water
• Energy and the Environment
• Sustainability
• Renewable Energy
• Desalination
• Energy development
• Renewable energy
• Liquid nitrogen economy
• Radiant energy
• Kinetic energy

Story Source:

Materials provided by Osaka University . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Makusu Tsutsui, Wei-Lun Hsu, Denis Garoli, Iat Wai Leong, Kazumichi Yokota, Hirofumi Daiguji, Tomoji Kawai. Gate-All-Around Nanopore Osmotic Power Generators . ACS Nano , 2024; DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c01989

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Beyond Gross Domestic Product: including nature in economic policy assessment

Nature-inclusive policy-making requires an indicator measuring the contribution from ecosystems to the benefits used by people and society. Such an indicator should complement the typical economic measure of GDP in policy scenarios and assessments.

The supply of ecosystem services, such as crop pollination and water purification, are of great importance to any economy, both directly and indirectly. However, most assessments use Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the main economic development indicator. GDP shows the total value of output/income generated in a country, but it does not capture fully the contributions of nature to economic activity. The concept of Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP), which summarises the value that ecosystem services provide to the economy in monetary terms, is a way to overcome these shortcomings in policy assessments. It also allows assessing the impact of particular policies on the overall condition of ecosystems.

A JRC study shows the importance of adding nature’s value 

The  Gross Ecosystem Product in Macroeconomic Modelling report explains and showcases how GEP can be applied in macroeconomic analyses alongside the traditional GDP indicator. The application of GEP to assess the value of ecosystem services in the decision-making process could enhance the quality of new policies and stewardship, which in turn could improve the management of natural capital. 

Real-world policy implementations of GEP as a metric alongside GDP are still pending due to various reasons, including technical limitations related to data availability and the complexity of ecosystem service valuation resulting in large uncertainties of estimates. However, preliminary simulations using the INCA (Integrated Natural Capital Accounting) approach and data show that the inclusion of GEP can alter the outcome of evaluations significantly, offering a more nuanced and realistic picture of the value of ecosystem services. 

For example, JRC researchers simulated a scenario in which changes in consumer preferences lead to a gradual increase in the consumption of proteins of plant origin. GDP would record a positive, yet very small, economic impact: an increase of 0.01% in the EU in 2030 compared to the reference scenario. In contrast, the GEP index would increase by 1.5%: this corresponds to 2.3 billion euros, a significant economic impact that GDP missed almost entirely.

A fruitful collaboration

The report is the result of a cooperation between scientists from the JRC and Wageningen Economic Research (WEcR), who develop and operate a macroeconomic model called MAGNET. Compared to other models used to assess the impact of policies on the economy, MAGNET was the most fitting option due to its built-in ability to represent land supply and forestry. JRC researchers introduced the new GEP module to MAGNET, which allows comparing the impact of different policies on both GDP and GEP in the European Union. The GEP module uses the INCA dataset, developed and maintained by the JRC, to incorporate the value of ecosystem services. This dataset is a product of the INCA project, which follows the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) global framework. Adhering to this international standard ensures the credibility of the GEP module.

The development of the GEP module is an ongoing process: JRC researchers are working on ways to make it even more accurate and effective. For example, connecting it to larger and more detailed data sets could lead to better specification of the ecosystem services supply functions and to the inclusion of more types of ecosystem services in the GEP indicator. Enriching GEP accounting with perspectives on the link between biological and human production, or considering harm to the ecosystem carrying capacity, may also contribute to make the model more accurate. 

• Green transition
• Healthy biodiversity
• Sustainable food systems

More news on a similar topic

• News announcement
• 30 May 2024

• General publications
• 28 May 2024

• 27 May 2024

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