Food

Fish have since the 1960s been growing twice as rapidly as population growth, and has become one of the world's most widely traded foods ^[4]. Technological developments have allowed for the fishing industry to supply this increased demand. This includes better navigational systems, development in fishing-method such as trawling, and fishing vessels being upgraded to further and longer journeys allowing for larger catches ^[1]. This also includes, that industrial fishing fleets have expanded their fishing to deeper waters^[5].

The blue acceleration in food is not only limited to human food, but has also seen an increase in feeds for livestock industries, where e.g. fish oil is an important ingredient ^[2].

Energy

The ocean has seen an increase in the energy sector as well, where new technologies have paved the way for marine renewable energies. This includes technologies creating energy derived from wind, waves, currents, tides, salinity gradients, thermal gradients and marine biomass ^[6].

The ocean has also seen an increase in more traditional energy extraction, such as hydrocarbons. In 2022 there were over 12.000 offshore platforms globally, with higher concentration in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Australia, and California ^[7], which is a noticeable increase from just around 9.000 in 2020 ^[2].

Material

Material extracted from the ocean includes minerals, ornamental resources, desalinated water and scientific information ^[2].

Minerals and ornamental resources have seen an increase due to higher demand. Minerals include natural aggregates such as sand and gravel, while ornamental resources have seen an increased demand in the three main markets: the home decor, the jewellery industry and the live aquarium trade ^[2].

Scientific information includes genetic resources. Due to marine organisms ability to thrive under extreme conditions of pressure, temperature and darkness, their genetic code is of great commercial interest for a wide range of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals ^[2][8].

Space

All of above mentioned topics do take up space in the ocean, but much more of blue acceleration is concentrated around the space available in the ocean. This includes more classic infrastructure such as shipping, pipelines and cables where globalization and new technologies have increased demand but also made more ocean based solutions possible ^[2].

But the demand for oceans space also includes tourism such as cruises, diving, snorkeling, swimming and more.

More examples of the demand for space in the ocean is waste disposal, land reclamation, military activities and more ^[2].

Blue economy

This section is an excerpt from blue economy

In economics, blue economy refers to the economic exploitation of aquatic ecosystems such as oceans, lakes, and rivers, and their coasts^[9]. Similarly to green economy, which focuses mostly on land-based activities, blue economy emphasises sustainability in the use of natural resources.

Blue justice

This section is an excerpt from blue justice

Blue Justice is a critical approach examining how coastal communities and small-scale fisheries are affected by blue economyand "blue growth" initiatives undertaken by institutions and governments globally to promote sustainable ocean development. The blue economy is also rooted in the green economy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Blue Justice acknowledges the historical rights of small-scale fishing communities to marine and inland resources and coastal space; in some cases, communities have used these resources for thousands of years. Thus, as a concept, it seeks to investigate pressures on small-scale fisheries from other ocean uses promoted in blue economy and blue growth agendas, including industrial fisheries, coastal and marine tourism, aquaculture, and energy production, and how they may compromise the rights and the well-being of small-scale fisheries and their communities.