Exploring Sustainable Strategies for Oceanic Development: A Blue Growth Perspective

The European Union is leading the Blue Growth initiative as a strategic approach to increasing economic prosperity in Europe's seas despite today's challenges. Drawing on the EU's Green Growth initiative, Blue Growth extends sustainability principles to marine areas, solidifying commitments to the sustainable management of marine ecosystems and the promotion of technological innovations. This initiative focuses on sectors such as energy, aquaculture, tourism and biotechnology in coastal and offshore environments. Blue Growth has increased in importance following major events such as Rio+20 and has had a significant impact on ocean and marine resource management practices. In this study, we conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to trace the trajectory of global research on blue growth across science, policy, and the blue economy over the 17-year period since the term's inception in 2007. We analyze blue growth using bibliometric techniques. Examining the blue growth literature, identifying key contributors, collaborations, research trends and gaps. Our analysis covers publication outputs, institutional affiliations, author collaborations, research themes, and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our findings reveal a significant increase in blue growth publications, especially after 2013, highlighting its increasing importance. Environmental Science and Ecology are emerging as primary research areas reflecting a focus on sustainability. We observe intense collaborations between countries and institutions, with significant contributions from the UK, USA, Germany, Italy and Spain. Blue growth research is aligned with several Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land), highlighting marine conservation and land-sea ecosystem connectivity. Keyword analysis underlines the interdisciplinary nature of blue growth research, highlighting key themes such as the blue economy, aquaculture and sustainable development. Institutional analysis identifies the University of Exeter and CNR as key contributors, while country-level analysis highlights global collaboration networks. Citation analysis reveals the intellectual structure of blue growth research, with marine biology, oceanography, sustainability science, and climate change among the prominent themes.