Centring justice for labour in the new blue economy: Principles for applying emerging evidence and theoretical critiques to policy and practice

The Blue Economy, according to the World Bank, is the "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem”, refers to a set of economic activities that sustainably make use of marine ecosystems while protecting nature at the same time. Similar policy trends, such as the Green Economy, have shown that development in the name of sustainability is likely to guarantee socially just development. To avoid the past mistakes, it is necessary to examine the social challenges faced on this new economic frontier. How, then, the existing patterns of unjust social relations are potentially replicated in the new set of blue economic activities, and what can be done to prevent the replication from happening? This paper presents the analysis of the inclusion of social injustice into the BE, the relationship between the Blue Economy and social (in)justice with a focus on various forms of unjust labour exploitation that have been identified in the sector. From the literature review, this article concludes by presenting seven key principles that may be used to guide policymakers who are seeking to integrate emerging evidence and theoretical critiques relating to justice and labour into blue economy policy and practice: 1) foregrounding of the human impact of blue economic activity, 2) identifying the replication of the existing patterns of exploitation, 3) programming with and for the vulnerable, 4) centralizing labour education, 5) addressing regulations and legislation relating to labour exploitation, 6) conducting research that beyond the blue economy, 7) underpinning the blue economy strategies with a commitment to multidimensional justice.