Editorial: The grey side of the blue bioeconomy: Assessing unreported transactions and financial drainage in blue bioeconomy sectors

Abstract

The blue bioeconomy has become a central pillar of sustainable development for coastal nations (Lees et al., 2025), contributing directly to several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2016; Vieira et al., 2020). Its growing importance is reflected in strategic policy frameworks adopted by major economies, including the European Union (EC, 2025) and China (Zhang et al., 2022), which envision a future driven by biotechnology, innovation, sustainable resource use, and effective governance. Despite this momentum, research has largely focused on the opportunities offered by the blue bioeconomy, while its “grey side”, namely the informal, unreported, and poorly regulated activities that undermine environmental sustainability, economic performance, and governance has warranted relatively little attention. This apparent imbalance is also visible in the scientific literature.