Towards a sustainable blue economy in Sweden

The report examines Sweden's maritime sectors—including blue food, offshore energy, tourism, and shipping—and argues for a shift from a sector-based approach to a multifunctional, ecosystem-based model. It identifies significant growth potential in offshore wind and sustainable aquaculture but warns that the current state of marine ecosystems is dire. The document recommends national coordination of marine spatial planning, the adoption of net-zero goals for maritime transport, and the modernization of regulatory frameworks to support circular and fossil-free technologies.

• Sweden's maritime industries showed strong development in value added, particularly in service industries and those linked to marine resources and space, growing approximately 50 percentage points faster than comparable industries.
• The Swedish commercial fishing sector is largely unsustainable; only 40% of Swedish and EU-joint fish stocks are used sustainably, and coastal fisheries in the east are deemed unsustainable regarding fish status, profitability, and employment.
• Sweden's position as a top 10 global exporter of fishery-related products is heavily dependent on the processing of fish imported from Norway rather than domestic primary production.
• Offshore wind power is projected to be a major economic and energy driver, with the potential to supply 45% of electricity needs by 2050 and create up to 10,000 annual jobs by 2050.
• Maritime tourism in Sweden is concentrated around large cities and harbours, with Västra Götaland County recording the highest number of boat nights in 2020 at 123,000.
• The shipping sector, while vital for trade with 90% of imports and exports moving by sea, contributes to global CO2 emissions and risks becoming a major source of strong acid addition to Baltic Sea surface waters if wet scrubber systems are widely used.
• Sweden possesses a strong innovation ecosystem and a high density of marine scientists, ranking 14th out of 121 countries in ocean-related environmental technologies from 2000 to 2016.
• The report argues that a sustainable blue economy requires moving away from a 'blue growth' approach focused on economic gains toward a multifunctional approach to marine spatial planning (MSP) that ensures resource efficiency and ecosystem regeneration.
• Current Swedish regulatory frameworks, including the environmental code (miljöbalken), are not adapted to emerging sustainable solutions, creating hindrances to the implementation of circular and fossil-free technologies.

APA

Barquet, K., Sjöberg, M., Passos, M. V., Gunnäs, A., Piseddu, T., & Leander, E. (2023). Towards a sustainable blue economy in Sweden. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/blue-economy-sweden-sei2023.014.pdf

Chicago

Barquet, Karina, Martin Sjöberg, Marlon V. Passos, Anne Gunnäs, Tommaso Piseddu, and Elin Leander. Towards a sustainable blue economy in Sweden. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2023. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/blue-economy-sweden-sei2023.014.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Barquet |first1=Karina |last2=Sjöberg |first2=Martin |last3=Passos |first3=Marlon V. |last4=Gunnäs |first4=Anne |last5=Piseddu |first5=Tommaso |last6=Leander |first6=Elin |title=Towards a sustainable blue economy in Sweden |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=March 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/blue-economy-sweden-sei2023.014.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{barquet2023towards, author = {Barquet, Karina and Sjöberg, Martin and Passos, Marlon V. and Gunnäs, Anne and Piseddu, Tommaso and Leander, Elin}, title = {{Towards a sustainable blue economy in Sweden}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/blue-economy-sweden-sei2023.014.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }