eea flag

Many human activities at sea and on land are affecting the marine environment. Maritime sectors aggregated under the blue economy are directly using the sea space and marine natural resources. Land based activities impacting marine environment are primarily in coastal areas, causing alterations of natural coastal zone. Land based pollution in river catchments or changes in riverine water flows are also impacting coastal areas. Human activities considered under MSFD are listed in Commission Directive (EU) 2017/845.

  • Human activities are grouped into sectors as defined by the EC Blue Economy Report. In 2021, coastal tourism had the highest Gross Value Added (GVA), followed by maritime transport and port activities.
  • Coastal tourism had the highest employment level in 2021 followed by living resources (fisheries, aquaculture, processing, and distribution) and port activities coming third.
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, GVA and the number of employees dropped for all sectors but began to rise again after 2020.
  • Only two sectors, oil and gas extraction and fisheries, have shown a decline in both GVA and employment.

EU blue economy: trends in the number of persons employed and Gross Value Added (GVA), and the respective contribution (%) to the EU total employment and GVA, 2008-2021

BlueEconomyJob.png

Source: European Commission, 2024

BlueEconomyGVA.png

The EU blue economy sectors generated around 3.6 million jobs and EUR 171 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2021. Blue economy jobs – contributing 1.8% to the total EU employment in 2021, fell by 17% compared to 2008 but is expected to have since recovered to pre-COVID levels. Blue economy GVA – contributing 1.3% to the total EU GVA in 2021, increased by 3% compared to 2008 but decreased by 8% compared to 2019. Blue GVA is also expected to have recovered to pre-COVID levels or higher.

References

    • European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Joint Research Centre, Borriello, A., Calvo Santos, A., Codina López, L. et al., The EU blue economy report 2024, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2771/186064