How can fisheries’ environmental policies help achieve a sustainable blue economy and blue tourism?

Abstract Fishing, fish processing, and tourism are important actors in the blue economy. These industries depend on fishery resources and natural environments. However, overfishing and congestion in tourist areas can also lead to environmental pollution and resource depletion. In addition, wastewater from the fish-processing industry can damage the environment and resources, hindering sustainable development. This study analyzes whether fishery environmental policies can lead to sustainable development in blue economies using an R&D-based growth model that includes firm location. Both policies promote economic growth, but fishery policy leads to pollution havens from North to South and increases tourism consumption through improved environmental quality. Under certain parameter conditions, environmental policy leads to pollution havens from South to North and decreases tourism consumption through worsened environmental quality. However, when these conditions change, the environmental policy leads to pollution havens from South to North. Then, fisheries and environmental policies have complementary effects on pollution havens from the South to the North. This study result stating that fishery policies, not environmental ones, can achieve sustainable blue tourism. This outcome relies on the cost of exogenous rent-seeking for ITQs being passed on to fishing prices. Hence, in the blue economy, this rent-seeking could have serious negative impacts on marine ecosystems. Besides, this study suggests that in the blue economy, fisheries and environmental policies may have unintended adverse government impacts on fisheries resources and pollution emissions through their interdependent effects. In achieving a sustainable blue economy, policymakers should consider the indirect effects of these policies on marine ecosystems.