94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Affairs and Policy
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1499386
Surging Blue Economy, increasing conflict risks and mitigation strategies
Provisionally accepted- 1 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- 2 University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- 3 Interdisciplinary Research Center in Environmental Technologies, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
The Blue Economy is raising optimism worldwide but the human expansion into, and the overcrowding of, the Ocean threatens increasing conflict between sectors, marine life, and the people who depend on it. Here, we highlight the potential conflicts that may arise between and within blue economy sectors, and provide recommendations on how to minimize such conflicts.
Keywords: blue economy, Global challenge, Ocean life, crowded ocean, conflict, Non-market values
Received: 20 Sep 2024; Accepted: 21 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sumaila and Villasante. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Rashid Sumaila, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z2, British Columbia, Canada
Sebastian Villasante, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.