The COST Action “Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-ecological impacts and opportunities” (RethinkBlue) centres around the Blue Economy and related policies affecting European societies. After the term was introduced at the UN Rio+20 conference, the paradigm was adopted by various actors across Europe and beyond. In the EU, the Blue Economy paradigm involves regional and national political-economic priorities, new legislative and governance frameworks, and EU and national financial support for sectors of the marine economy. However, the impact of these policies on coastal populations are not yet well-understood. Accelerating globalisation, technological developments and the impact of climate change pose additional challenges.

The purpose of this Action is to rethink the Blue Economy, in two ways. First, by assessing its impact on coastal societies, and second, by exploring opportunities deriving from innovations and potential synergies between established and emergent marine activities. The guiding research questions are:

1. What are the impacts, positive or negative, of Blue Economy developments on human well-being, social equity and the economic and environmental sustainability of coastal societies?
2. What are potential opportunities for innovations and synergies between sectors?

Scientific interactions focus on five themes: (1) maritime occupations, (2) food security & sustainable blue consumption, (3) port cities & coastal communities, (4) fisheries governance & emergent activities, (5) climate change & natural hazards. Knowledge exchange and capacity building among researchers and stakeholders of the Blue Economy will be facilitated through meetings, research workshops, an online seminar series, training schools, and conferences.