Impacts on Blue Economy

The impact of human-induced climate change will not only be far reaching in the marine ecosystem (see Biological impacts of climate change), there will also be impacts on the marine economy. While many of these impacts will be negative, there will also be some opportunities to develop the blue economy, through its potential role in mitigating for climate change (see Opportunities for climate change mitigation) and through changes within sectors (for example, new commercial fish species).

Please see the relevant sections below, for further details on three major sectors: Aquaculture, Fishing and Coastal infrastructure, ports and shipping.

In addition to these, the tourism and recreation sectors will also be impacted by climate change (Coles, 2020). Coastal resorts and nature parks, like all coastal regions, could be subject to increased risk of sea level rise, coastal flooding, erosion and extreme weather. The magnitude of these impacts still remain uncertain. Climate change may also increase opportunities for the sector with warmer air and sea temperatures making seaside visits more attractive and possibly extending the peak season either side of the current peak (Coles, 2020).

A surfer taking advantage of the waves at a Scottish beach in November. Climate change may increase opportunities for the tourism and marine activities sector with warmer air and sea temperatures making seaside visits more attractive.

In general, the impacts of climate change will differ by sector, and adaptation to climate change and the opportunities that may emerge will also differ. Recent work by Cunningham (2019) highlighted that the priorities and place-based issues in small island communities around Scotland required a combination of community-based action and strategic policy.