The EU blue economy is doing well, with emerging sectors such as ocean energy, blue biotechnology and desalination leading the way and creating new business opportunities, according to the new edition of the EU Blue Economy Report, published on Thursday 30 May.
The blue economy encompasses a wide variety of economic sectors such as fishing and aquaculture, coastal tourism, shipping, ports and marine renewable energy.
The latest Eurostat data (for the year 2021) show that the EU blue economy as a whole: - employs 3.6 million people (+17% compared to 2020); - has a turnover of nearly €624 billion (+21% compared to 2020); - accounts for €171 billion in Gross Value Added (+35% compared to 2020).
Between 2015 and 2021, there has been a significant increase in nominal ‘gross value added’ in the offshore wind energy sector (+326%), shipbuilding and repair (+54%), maritime transport (+29%) and marine living resources (+27%), according to the report.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/cgx (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)