Rethinking Blue Jobs: World Bank Links Employment Growth with Healthy Oceans and Inclusive Economies

The World Bank report calls for a shift from simply creating aquatic-sector jobs to building productive, inclusive and environmentally sustainable “blue jobs”, backed by stronger governance, skills, social protection and investment. With ocean industries supporting over 133 million jobs globally, it urges governments, development partners and investors to protect aquatic ecosystems while unlocking sustainable employment and private-sector growth.

A World Bank guidance note is urging governments, development partners and investors to rethink what counts as employment in the Blue Economy. Prepared by the World Bank's Social Policy and Environment Global Department with support from PROBLUE, the study argues that every job linked to oceans, coasts, rivers or lakes should not automatically be called a "blue job." A genuine blue job must support environmental sustainability while also improving economic productivity and social inclusion. This distinction matters because policies that create employment by overusing fish stocks or damaging aquatic ecosystems may deliver short-term income but weaken the foundations of future jobs.

The economic stakes are significant. Around 62 million people were employed in primary fisheries and aquaculture in 2022, while ocean-based industries supported more than 133 million jobs globally. In Africa, the Blue Economy generated nearly US$300 billion and supported about 49 million jobs in 2018. These numbers are likely to underestimate the sector's importance because informal and seasonal employment remains widespread, particularly in fishing, processing, trading and other small-scale activities.

Local Dependence Makes the Blue Jobs Transition a Policy Priority

The report warns that national employment statistics can hide much deeper dependence at the local level. In Tanzania, aquatic-sector workers represent only about 1.42 percent of national employment, but the share rises to around 42 percent in Kilwa, 28 percent on Mafia Island and 27 percent in Mtwara. Similarly, aquatic employment accounts for about 1.23 percent nationally in Chile but reaches 18 percent in Dalcahue, 16 percent in Chonchi and 11 percent in Puqueldón.

This means that restrictions on fishing, creation of protected areas or environmental reforms that appear small nationally can cause major economic disruption in individual communities.

Bangladesh also shows how aquatic labor markets are changing. Fisheries employment covered in the analysis fell from roughly 991,000 workers in 2015 to 936,000 in 2022, while water transport and storage employment increased from about 157,000 to 211,000. Fisheries nevertheless represented around 79 percent of selected aquatic employment in 2022.

Governments therefore need detailed local information before introducing reforms. They need to know who depends on aquatic resources, where workers live, what skills they possess and whether alternative employment actually exists.

Better Jobs Will Require Skills, Protection and Stronger Governance

The transition to a sustainable Blue Economy will create opportunities, but it will also produce adjustment costs. Analysis covering 27 countries shows that men dominate fishing, water transport and shipbuilding, while women are heavily represented in fish processing. Young people aged 15–34 account for about 40 percent of aquatic-sector workers. Self-employment is common, education levels are relatively low in fishing and aquaculture, and many fishers have weak social-protection coverage.

The report identifies five major labor-market challenges involving worker incentives, skills, location, timing and demographic barriers. A fisher may not have the technical skills or capital to move into aquaculture. New jobs may be created far from communities losing traditional livelihoods. Workers may also resist changing occupations because fishing is tied to family traditions, social networks and local identity.

Governments should therefore combine environmental reforms with vocational training, certification, job matching, temporary income support, social protection and livelihood diversification.

Peru demonstrates the value of such transition planning. Fisheries reforms between 2008 and 2015 resulted in roughly one-quarter of the industrial anchoveta fleet being decommissioned. An industry-financed program provided affected workers with stipends of up to 20 percent of previous wages for as long as 24 months, alongside retraining and business support. Of 2,283 workers who voluntarily left the fleet, 1,347 enrolled in retraining and around 1,070 documented occupational reinsertions were recorded.

Development Finance Must Connect Infrastructure With Sustainability

The findings also carry important lessons for international development partners. Between fiscal years 2018 and 2026, the World Bank approved 67 Blue Economy-related lending operations across 34 countries, with commitments of approximately US$4.2 billion.

The report argues that infrastructure spending alone cannot guarantee sustainable jobs. Ports, landing sites, cold storage, transport and processing facilities can increase productivity, but they can also encourage greater extraction from already stressed resources.

The West Africa Regional Fisheries Program offers an alternative approach. Launched in 2010, it accumulated around US$174 million in investments across eight countries while putting fisheries governance ahead of major infrastructure. In Liberia, measures against illegal fishing and stronger protection of nearshore resources contributed to stock recovery and fish landings more than doubling. Cold-storage facilities subsequently allowed around two tonnes of fish per day to be stored and marketed at better prices.

For development institutions, the message is clear: infrastructure, environmental governance, skills, social protection, digital systems and access to finance should be designed as connected investments rather than separate projects.

Private Capital Can Grow, but Ecological Risk Cannot Be Ignored

The Blue Economy presents investment opportunities in sustainable aquaculture, seafood processing, cold chains, maritime services, coastal tourism, waste management, ecosystem restoration, digital traceability and financial technology. Zanzibar's seaweed industry, for example, employs around 25,000 people, predominantly women, creating opportunities to use certification and traceability to connect producers with higher-value markets.

However, aquatic businesses often struggle to obtain finance because they are small, informal, seasonal and exposed to climate risks. The report highlights blue bonds, blended finance, guarantees, credit lines, insurance and digital finance as possible solutions. Seychelles' 2018 sovereign blue bond raised US$15 million for sustainable marine-resource management, supported by a US$5 million World Bank guarantee and US$5 million in concessional financing. The structure helped reduce the effective interest rate from 6.5 percent to 2.8 percent.

For investors, environmental sustainability is therefore more than a corporate responsibility issue, it is a financial risk consideration. A fishing company, processing facility or tourism business cannot remain profitable if the ecosystem supporting it deteriorates.

The report recommends that governments build better links between labor surveys, fisheries registries, business records, social-protection databases and environmental monitoring systems. Development partners should support stronger data systems and evaluate whether projects actually improve wages, productivity, resilience and environmental conditions. Governments should expand activities that are already sustainable, help promising sectors upgrade, protect workers affected by reforms and avoid describing environmentally damaging employment as "blue." The long-term measure of success is not simply how many jobs are created, but whether those jobs remain productive, inclusive and sustainable while preserving aquatic resources for future generations.