Understanding ocean-related risks, opportunities and the evolving investment landscape.

What is the blue economy?

The blue economy encompasses economic activity connected to oceans, seas and coastal areas. It includes established industries such as shipping, ports, fisheries, aquaculture and coastal tourism, alongside emerging areas including offshore renewable energy, blue biotechnology, marine pharmaceuticals, blue carbon and ocean-based climate solutions.

The investment question extends beyond companies operating directly on the ocean.

Global supply chains, food companies, infrastructure owners, sovereigns and other businesses can depend indirectly on healthy marine ecosystems and ocean-based economic activity.

The Ocean Framework identifies direct ocean exposure across sectors including maritime transport, fisheries, aquaculture, marine and coastal tourism, marine renewables, port infrastructure, subsea telecommunications, blue biotechnology and marine pharmaceuticals.  

This makes the blue economy relevant across listed equities, fixed income, infrastructure, private markets, real assets and sovereign investment portfolios.

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Why does the blue economy matter to investors?

The ocean is not simply an environmental asset. It forms part of the infrastructure supporting the global economy.

It regulates the climate, supports biodiversity, provides food and livelihoods and enables global commerce.

The Ocean Framework estimates that ocean-related economic activity generates approximately $3–6 trillion annually. It also highlights the financial consequences of ocean degradation, including supply-chain disruption, stranded assets and increasing regulatory and reputational risks.  

For investors, this creates two interconnected questions:

• Where are portfolios exposed to the deterioration of ocean ecosystems?
• Where can capital participate in the transition towards a more sustainable blue economy?

Understanding both sides of this equation is becoming increasingly important for long-term investors.

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Where are the investment opportunities?

The transition towards a sustainable blue economy is also creating opportunities for institutional capital. These can include established assets as well as emerging investment structures.

Potential areas include:

• offshore renewable energy
• sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
• ports and lower-carbon maritime infrastructure
• coastal resilience and adaptation
• marine ecosystem restoration
• blue biotechnology
• pollution and wastewater solutions
• ocean monitoring and data technologies
• blue bonds and other sustainable financing instruments
• blue carbon and nature-based solutions.

The opportunity set spans multiple asset classes.

For investors, however, identifying an activity as "blue" is only the beginning. Investment structures, environmental integrity, additionality, measurement, governance and underlying ecosystem impacts all require due diligence.

Regulation and the blue economy

The policy environment surrounding the ocean is developing.

Ocean governance spans international agreements, regional frameworks, national regulation and sector-specific rules. This creates a complex landscape for investors with global portfolios.

Regulatory developments can affect areas including:

• marine biodiversity
• fisheries and aquaculture
• shipping
• pollution
• offshore development
• nature-related disclosure
• protected marine areas
• ocean resource use.

For investors, the task is increasingly to map portfolio exposure against relevant regulatory frameworks and understand the potential implications for assets, companies and disclosure.