Seventy percent of the planet is covered by water, and ninety percent of global economic trade is transported by sea. The oceans are inextricably linked with food security and the global economy. Technology and the Blue Economy examines the vital role that technology plays in developing the blue economy. It provides a clear, accessible picture of the current and future potential of technology within different sectors in the blue economy, such as offshore energy, ports and harbours, shipping, maritime surveillance and cyber security.

Technology and the Blue Economy looks at the disruption of established business models through case studies of leading innovators, examining development issues, what they have learned and how they have transformed their current ways of working within their organizations. Along with actionable takeaways at the end of each section, readers will learn from and be inspired by the front-line experiences of Blue Economy innovators.

70 per cent of the planet is covered by water, and 90 per cent of global economic trade is transported by sea. The world's seas and oceans are big business. Based on gross marine product, the ocean can be considered the world's seventh-largest economy, with the total global value of the Blue Economy predicted to rise to $3 trillion by 2030. Grounded in detailed market research, and brought to life through over 250 meticulously researched case studies, Technology and the Blue Economy presents a compelling overview of an inspiring and innovative sector that includes offshore renewable energy, ports and harbours, shipping, maritime surveillance, cyber security, aquaculture and ocean conservation. It tackles questions like these: * With Earth observation satellites providing unprecedented levels of data about the ocean, can machine learning capabilities develop at pace to make sense of all this new information? * How can ships protect themselves when one shipping firm alone records 50,000 daily attempts to breach its cyber security systems? * With floating wind farms now pushing further out to sea to convert natural energy, what role do robots have in managing essential maintenance in these more remote environments? * When passenger ferries are already sailing themselves and self-docking in port without human intervention, are we entering an age where human error is eradicated? * With fish farming predicted to account for 62 per cent of all the seafood consumed globally by 2030, how can 3D imaging cameras and net-cleaning robots help to stop mass deaths of fish that can run into millions in a single incident? * In the age of smartphone ubiquity, how important a role might social media and citizen science play in ocean conservation? * With luxury cruise ships now marketing themselves as 'smart, connected cities', crunching passenger data in real-time, do they now provide the gold standard of customer experience within the tourist industry? * Is optical scanning technology the solution to countering slavery at sea, a real concern in the south-east Asian fishing industry? * Can satellite-enabled tracking and autonomous clean-up systems help to counter one of the greatest conservation issues of the day - the fight against ocean plastic pollution? Technology and the Blue Economy explores how innovators can develop the right business models to capitalize on growth opportunities, and analyses the critical success factors for emerging technologies.