The EU's Blue Economy – all economic activities related to oceans, seas and coastal areas – is growing steadily, according to the EU’s first annual report on the blue economy. With a turnover of €566 billion, the sector generates € 174 billion of value added and creates jobs for nearly 3.5 million people. The 2018 Annual Report on the EU Blue Economy aims to describe the scope and size of the blue economy in the European Union, creating a baseline to support policymakers and stakeholders in the quest for sustainable development of oceans, seas and coastal resources.
The report examines not only established sectors (meaning, for the purposes of this report, those that have traditionally contributed to the blue economy) but also emerging and innovative sectors, which bring new opportunities for investment and hold huge potential for future development. It describes the most recent trends in several socioeconomic indicators and analyses the drivers behind such trends. Analyses are provided for the EU as a whole and by sector and industry for each Member State. Reflecting the availability of comparable datasets across all Member States, the focus of this first report is primarily on the established sectors. By tracking the development of the blue economy subsectors, and examining the drivers behind, the Annual Report on the EU Blue Economy can help identify investment opportunities and provide direction for future policies, including ocean governance.