Blue economy is a term in economics relating to the exploitation and preservation of the marine environment. Its scope of interpretation varies among organizations.

Facts:

• The oceans cover 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and contain 97 percent of the Earth’s water. Less than 1 percent of the Earth’s water is fresh water, and 2-3percent is contained in glaciers and ice caps. The oceans contain 99 percent of the living space on the planet.
• The worldwide ocean economy is valued at around valued at around US$1.5 trillion per year.
• Eighty per-cent of global trade by volume is carried by sea.
• 350 million jobs world-wide are linked to fisheries.
• By 2025 it is estimated that 34% of crude oil production will come from offshore fields.

Potential of oceans:

• Fishing:  Fisheries of today provide about 16% of the total world’s protein with higher percentages occurring in developing nations.  The Viking trade of cod and then continuing with fisheries like those found in Europe, Italy, Portugal, Spain and India.
• Shipping: It is safe and profitable for economies around the world.
• Maritime transport: Maritime transport can be realized over any distance by boat, ship, sailboat or barge, over oceans and lakes, through canals or along rivers. Shipping may be for commerce, recreation, or for military purposes.
• Tourism: Tourism is in the top five economic contributors to 83% of all countries and the most important economy for 38% of countries.
• Entertainment and leisure: Sea angling from boats, sea angling from the shore, sailing at sea, boating at sea, water skiing, jet skiing, surfing, sail boarding, sea kayaking, scuba diving, swimming in the sea, bird watching in coastal areas, whale/dolphin watching, visiting coastal natural reserves, trips to the beach, seaside and islands.
• Mining: Metal compounds, gravels, manganese nodules, sands and gas hydrates are mined in the ocean. Example: South China Sea. Example: English channel, Suez canal
• Renewable energy: Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the use of wind farms constructed in bodies of water, usually in the ocean on the continental shelf, to harvest wind energy to generate electricity. Example: Tamilnadu coastline, Hywind in Scotland.
• Petroleum and natural gas: Underwater petroleum and natural gas deposits were created millions of years ago when tiny sea plants and animals died and were turned into hydrocarbons. Example: Gulf of Cambay, Gujarat
• Oxygen production: Phytoplankton accounts for possibly 90% of the world’s oxygen production because water covers about 70% of the Earth and phytoplankton are abundant in the photic zone of the surface layers.
• Bio prospecting: It is the process of discovery and commercialization of new products based on biological resources. These resources or compounds can be important for and useful in many fields, including pharmaceuticals, agriculture, bioremediation, and nanotechnology, among others.
• Submarine communications cable: It is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea.
• Natural shield: oceans provide protection and development of more intangible ‘blue’ resources such as traditional ways of life, carbon sequestration, and coastal resilience to help vulnerable states mitigate the often devastating effects of climate change.

Challenges:

• Current economic trends that have been rapidly degrading ocean resources.
• The lack of investment in human capital for employment and development in innovative blue economy sectors.
• Inadequate care for marine resources and ecosystem services of the oceans.
• Ships release air pollutants in the form of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. 

Conclusion

According to the World Bank, the blue economy is the “sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem”. The cooperation towards conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources are outlined in the goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 14- “life below water”)