This commentary article aims to summarize the past and present research of the blue economy from developing and developed nations and anticipates future research directions in the domain of blue economy policy research for Thailand. The importance of environmental protection, economic distribution, and social equality in the past were discussed and the present research shifted to addressing the complexity and defining the all-inclusive blue economy and all-inclusive participation, multiple stakeholder involvement and inter-regional cooperation, and global partnerships for knowledge and technology exchange. New blue economy sectors, such as ‘bioprospecting’, are also emerging in the present. However, the core concepts, such as defining ‘Blue Economy’, ‘Overfishing’, and ‘sustainable growth’, are still under debate. There is a perceptual disagreement among stakeholders in developing countries. Future directions in this research domain are also presented. This study concludes that future blue economy policies, plans, and implementation related research on blue economy must take account of environmental regulations and all-inclusive economic developmental plans that are measurable in terms of economic, environmental, and socio-cultural sustainability.
Keywords
Blue economy, Coastal region, Overfishing, Sustainable growth, Thailand