Foreword

“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.”

– Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

For anyone interested in the ocean, these are heady days. As the UN’s ocean decade reaches its halfway point, there is significant progress to celebrate. The Kunming-Montreal Framework dramatically expands marine protected areas, offshore renewables are becoming cheaper than fossil alternatives, and new technologies make the ocean economy more efficient and sustainable. Yet other developments are more disheartening. Overfishing remains a significant collective action problem, marine ecosystems are flashing warning lights, and geopolitical tensions are increasing at sea as on land.

In this context, this report on future scenarios for the Nordic ocean economy is timely. It takes stock of where we are now and where we are headed in the years to come. As the ocean economy will be shaped by developments in nature conservation, the energy transition, and rising concerns about competitiveness, this report serves as a basis for informed decisions that increase the chances for growth to be sustainable. It also pinpoints particular strengths, problems, and opportunities that can be addressed through Nordic cooperation.

For Nordic Innovation, the report marks the beginning of a new phase in our efforts to make the Nordic region home to the world’s most sustainable ocean economy. Since 2021, we have supported practical solutions related to ocean biomass, marine multi-use, and testbed initiatives. Now, we are broadening our scope by seeking to enable rapid commercialisation of new solutions, technology-driven systemic change, and increased investments in the ocean economy. Nordic Oceans 2050 gives vital input to that work through a data-driven and multi-sectoral analysis that includes all parts of the Nordic region.

We are grateful to DNV, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and the Technical University of Denmark for all their hard work. Our hope is that this report will be read and discussed by policymakers, businesses, investors, researchers and the general public alike – indeed, by anyone interested in understanding the tides of the ocean economy, and taking those tides at the flood, in our part of the world.

Sindre Stemshaug Bornstein
Managing Director, Nordic Innovation
Oslo, November 2025