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🌊 Blue Economy

The Ocean Economy: 34%
of Fish Stocks Overfished

The ocean economy is worth $3 trillion globally — but we're destroying it. 34% of wild fisheries are now overfished. Meanwhile, deep sea mining could unlock $8 trillion in minerals sitting at the bottom.

$3TGlobal blue economy annual value
34%Fish stocks overfished (FAO 2022)
$8TDeep sea mineral wealth estimated
57%Fish stocks fished at maximum sustainable level

Choose your depth. The data doesn't change — just the explanation.

The ocean is like a giant farm and mine combined. We eat fish from it, ship things across it, and it could have trillions of dollars of metals and minerals on its floor. But we're catching too many fish — a third of all fish stocks are now overfished, meaning we're taking more than the ocean can replace. If we keep going, some fish could disappear from our plates.
The "blue economy" includes fisheries, aquaculture, maritime shipping, offshore energy, tourism, and seabed mining. FAO's 2022 State of World Fisheries report: 34.2% of monitored marine fish stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels (overfished). Another 57.3% are at maximum sustainable yield. Deep sea polymetallic nodules in the Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Zone contain more cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper than all land-based reserves combined — estimated at $8T. But seabed mining regulation is contested through the International Seabed Authority.
FAO SOFIA 2022: 34.2% overfished, up from 10% in 1974. Stock collapse threshold: biomass below 10% of pre-exploitation level. Commercial extinction (unprofitable to catch) happens before biological extinction. Highest overfishing regions: Mediterranean/Black Sea (62.5% overfished), SE Pacific, SW Atlantic. Global fisheries subsidies: ~$35B/year, of which $22B are "harmful" (capacity-enhancing, enabling overcapitalization). Deep sea mining ISA framework: ongoing negotiations; EU + "High Ambition Coalition" pushing for moratorium. Clarion-Clipperton Zone nodule resource: 21B tonnes (USGS 2021), containing Mn, Ni, Cu, Co critical for battery supply chains.
FAO SOFIA 2022: fao.org/state-of-fisheries-aquaculture/2022. FAO FishFinder stock database: fao.org/fishery/en/fishfinder. ISA seabed mining: isa.org.jm. USGS deep sea minerals: usgs.gov/centers/gmeg/science/deep-sea-minerals. World Bank blue economy report 2017: openknowledge.worldbank.org. Fisheries subsidies: Sumaila et al. (2021) Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23507-3. Ocean health index: oceanhealthindex.org.

The Blue Economy — Opportunity vs. Exploitation

Global Fish Stock Status (FAO 2022)

Biological status of monitored marine fish stocks

Blue Economy Value by Sector ($B)

Annual economic contribution of ocean industries

Overfished Stock % by Ocean Region

FAO fishing area data — regional breakdown of unsustainable fishing

⚠️ Overfishing → Stock Collapse → No More Fish

The North Atlantic cod fishery collapsed in 1992 after decades of overfishing — a stock that had sustained Europe and North America for 500 years vanished in one generation of industrial trawling. It has not recovered 30+ years later. The same pattern is playing out across dozens of fisheries today. When FAO says 34% are "overfished," it means the trajectory toward collapse is already underway. The subsidies problem makes it worse: governments pay $22 billion per year to help fishing fleets catch fish faster than the ocean can replace them.