Blue Economy, Fisheries, and Aquaculture: Governance, Ecology, and the Road to Regeneration

The Blue Economy is now an emerging paradigm in global ocean governance that holds promise for integrating economic development, food security and environmental conservation. This paper challenges that promise by examining fisheries and aquaculture, based on the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024, produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). It looks at the historical shift of aquaculture surpassing capture fisheries in 2022, the diminishing sustainability of marine fish stocks and the ongoing issue of IUU fishing.1 Aquatic food systems are evaluated to be at increased risk from environmental stressors such as climate change, ocean acidification, habitat loss, and biodiversity loss, which are evaluated as growing threats. The paper assesses international, regional and national levels of governance, including UNCLOS, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, the High Seas Treaty, Marine Protected Areas, and national strategies. It identifies the missing link as not the lack of policy or technology, but the lack of implementation, enforcement, equity, and accountability. Small-scale fisheries, women in aquatic value chains and Small Island Developing States are given special attention. The paper concludes by arguing that a regenerative Blue Economy based on restoration, rights, inclusion and enforceable governance is essential for fisheries and aquaculture to contribute to the health of the oceans and human development.