Blue economy

BLUE ECONOMY

The Blue Economy is that part of the economy that is linked in some way to the sea or ocean. Traditional sectors, such as fishing and shipping, stand alongside modern sectors such as renewable offshore energy and blue biotechnology.

The ocean and associated sustainable Blue Economy are necessary building blocks for environmental and climate goals. In this context, the Blue Economy is an essential element in the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in the United Nations' Agenda 2030 and is seen as one of the carriers of the European Green Deal

However, the "blue (r)evolution" of recent years, with the rising economic and political importance of the ocean economy, poses significant challenges to the marine research and innovation community. Innovation is crucial for both established and emerging marine and maritime sectors to develop in a sustainable manner.

To strengthen Flanders' marine innovation capacity, VLIZ is strongly committed to building the scientific knowledge base and detecting innovation needs. Among other things, we do this by bringing scientists and stakeholders from the innovation landscape into contact with each other so that new opportunities for the Blue Economy can arise through knowledge transfer and collaboration. Important partners for VLIZ are the Flemish spearhead cluster the Blue Cluster and the Provincial Development Agency (POM) West Flanders.

Projecten

PuBlic and Economic VALue of ChANging Coastal ArEas by stimulating “Green” Blue Citizenship and Sustainable Blue Tourism

A key question is how to find balance between naturalness/attractiveness of the environment, social and economic needs of the coastline’s stakeholders (industrial parties, communities, tourists, citizens,…) and sustainable innovations and solutions

Coastbusters 2.0

Coastbusters 2.0, a public-private innovation partnership, will deploy several reef-facilitating systems to induce the early stages of mussel biogenic reef formation in different dynamic nearshore coastal environments as a basis for the development

Plastic Flux for Innovation and Business Opportunities in Flanders

A first prerequisite to take effective plastic remediation measures is to know where and when action should be taken. A central objective in this project is to develop a two-dimensionsal-horizontal (2DH) plastic dispersal model. The model will be

Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership

The partnership will catalyse the transformation of Europes ocean economy towards climate neutral status by 2050. By aligning national, regional and EU R&I priorities and bringing together science, industry, governance and society, it will deliver

Background information

Also read: BLUE ECONOMY AND INNOVATION (COMPENDIUM COAST AND SEA)

Also read: MARINE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION INDICATOR REPORT (2018)(2018)

Also read: Gearing up our blue knowledge - Tackling ocean challenges in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030

News

Biodiversity Blue economy The sea before Climate Technology & innovation Sea & health

Dive into marine biodiversity: World Conference on Marine Biodiversity 2026 comes to Bruges

12/15/2025 - 11:30

From 17 to 20 November 2026, the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity 2026 will bring the global marine biodiversity community together in the historic city of Bruges, Belgium. Join the scientific conference as a participant or abstract presenter. On 18 November, the general public is also invited to a special screening of the deep-sea documentary How Deep is Your Love .