On January 30st, the podcast Blue Economy: Economics and Geopolitics of the Sea, written and presented by Lluís Miret, Professor of Applied Economics at the Gandia Campus of the UPV (Polytechnic University of Valencia), was launched. The first season will consist of thirteen episodes, released one per week, and will be followed by a second season of thirteen more. 

The objective is to introduce the concept of the Blue Economy and answer several questions: What is it? Where does it come from and what does it encompass? Why has it become so popular in recent years? What opportunities, but also what threats, does it present? The first episodes will address these questions, while subsequent episodes will delve deeper, one by one, into the different sectors that make up the blue economy: fishing, aquaculture, trade, marine energy, shipbuilding, tourism, deep-sea mining, etc. Throughout these chapters, we will delve into legal issues, such as the law of the sea and maritime commercial law; we will address geopolitical issues such as new shipping routes and the control of ports and marine resources; we will examine genuine technological revolutions already underway, such as offshore wind power, massive data transmission, and autonomous vehicles, as well as others that seem imminent, such as deep-sea mining and certain forms of ocean energy.

These political, business, and environmental challenges have placed the sea at the center of a debate that goes far beyond economics, even though we have called it the Blue Economy. In reality, in just a few years, what some authors call the “blue acceleration” has occurred and will continue to occur: a sudden surge of interest in the sea by companies and governments. This shift is due to emerging technologies or those that have reached the precise level of maturity, but also to business and geopolitical interests. The struggle between the United States and China is being waged in the development of these technologies, but also in the control of raw materials and infrastructure such as ports and submarine cables. Furthermore, legal changes have occurred surrounding the concepts of territorial and/or patrimonial seas. The possibility of extending sovereignty far beyond the former 200-mile limit has spurred many countries to renewed interest in marine exploration. 

In short, a combination of factors explains the growing importance of the Blue Economy. This concept goes far beyond economics and requires a multifaceted and holistic perspective, where economics, geography, law, politics, technology, and much more converge. It is a fascinating topic due to its current relevance and importance. 

The Gandia Campus of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, through its Research Institute for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (IGIC), has led various technological and marine science projects that have become benchmarks in different areas. Perhaps less well known, a branch of this research institute has carried out significant projects in the field of social sciences, contributing a socio-economic perspective to the challenges of fishing and the blue economy. This podcast aims to communicate and disseminate some of the research carried out and the experience acquired in these fields, contributing to debates that seem key to the future of the sea and society.