The Geopolitics of the Ocean

The report frames ocean health as a critical component of U.S. national security, highlighting how the depletion of marine resources and illegal fishing drive geopolitical instability and transnational organized crime. It identifies specific risks in the Indo-Pacific and Arctic regions and warns that unsustainable practices place $8.4 trillion in blue economy assets at risk. To counter these threats, the document recommends elevating ocean governance in national security directives, strengthening alliances to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and expanding public-private partnerships through innovative blue finance and technology.

• Fisheries-related conflicts have increased 20-fold since the 1970s, and seafood is now viewed as a strategic commodity that can drive geopolitical instability.
• Climate-driven shifts in fish stocks are creating geopolitical 'winners and losers,' with up to 25% of stocks projected to migrate between national waters or into international waters by the end of the century.
• Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a major sector of transnational organized crime, with annual global financial losses estimated between $16 billion and $36 billion.
• A significant portion of seafood consumed in the United States is linked to IUU fishing, estimated between 13% and 32%, which defrauds consumers and undermines domestic fishers.
• The global blue economy is valued at $24 trillion, but unsustainable practices put approximately $8.4 trillion in revenues and assets at risk over the next decade.
• In the Indo-Pacific, foreign fishing fleets and IUU vessels contribute to 45% of fisheries-related conflict events, often leveraging state subsidies to outcompete local fishers.
• The Arctic is becoming a geopolitical flashpoint as receding ice opens new trade routes and fishing grounds, with Alaskan pollock stocks shifting from U.S. waters toward Russia.
• Criminal organizations, such as Mexico's 'Gulf' cartel, use commercial fishing as a cover for drug and migrant smuggling and to illegally harvest high-value species like red snapper and totoaba.
• The report proposes three strategic shifts: elevating ocean governance in national security directives (e.g., National Security Strategy), building partner capacity to enforce marine rights, and scaling blue finance and marine technology.

APA

WWF International (2025). The Geopolitics of the Ocean. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1621/The_Geopolitics_of_the_Ocean_Report_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. The Geopolitics of the Ocean. 2025. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1621/The_Geopolitics_of_the_Ocean_Report_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=The Geopolitics of the Ocean |date=2025 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1621/The_Geopolitics_of_the_Ocean_Report_FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2025geopolitics, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{The Geopolitics of the Ocean}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1621/The_Geopolitics_of_the_Ocean_Report_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }