The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released a publication that presents a sustainable ocean economy classification for tradable goods and services, applicable to any country at any time. The classification system aims to enhance understanding of ocean-based economic sectors and address data scarcity that can hinder accurate assessments of these sectors.

Oceans account for 80% of the planet’s biodiversity, absorb half of global carbon emissions, and make major contributions to food security and livelihoods. To date, most SDG 14 (life below water) initiatives have focused on sustainable ocean ecosystems and management, but there has been limited work on identification of ocean-based sectors or assessments of the economic relevance of oceans. Over 80% of global trade “is carried out at sea,” and oceans support a wide range of economic activities and industries. Only a few international or regional initiatives have tried to measure or map the ocean economy, and few countries collect data that cover ocean-based sectors. This UNCTAD publication titled, ‘Towards a Harmonized International Trade Classification for the Development of Sustainable Ocean-based Economies,’ fills information and data gaps in trade in ocean-based sectors, and aims to facilitate “integrated actions that promote sustainable ocean-based economies” within and across borders.

The classification principles are based on applicability, standardization, comprehensiveness, and flexibility, similar to those applied in international classification of other goods and services. Flexibility, for instance, ensures that the classifications can be reviewed over time as the world makes progress on SDG 14 or if there are new ocean-based sectors. National authorities can also expand the classification to increase its appropriateness to specific domestic industries to achieve local policy objectives or improve accuracy. The classification focuses on thirteen sectors in three categories: goods; services; and energy. The classification sectors are:

1. Marine fisheries;
2. Aquaculture and hatcheries;
3. Seafood processing;
4. Sea minerals;
5. Ships, port equipment, and parts thereof;
6. High-technology and other manufactures not elsewhere classified;
7. Marine and coastal tourism;
8. Trade in fisheries services;
9. Maritime transport and related services;
10. Port services, related infrastructure services, and logistical services;
11. Coastal and marine environmental services;
12. Marine research and development and related services; and
13. Ocean energy and renewable energy.

The classification covers 52 subsectors spanning ocean goods, services, and energy. The marine fisheries goods category, for example, includes catches and aquaculture used for commercial and industrial purposes, with subsectors covering fish, crustaceans, moluscs, aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans, and other living marine products, excluding the previously categorized ones.

The report emphasizes this classification systems will enable the collection of trade-related and other statistics for the monitoring and analysis of ocean-based sectors at global and national levels, from a supply or a demand perspective, and as a whole or by sector. The private sector, for example, can use these data to identify niche markets or production inputs and to make sound investment decisions and better integrate themselves in regional and global value chains, including through partnerships. Governments can use the classification to collect reliable, timely data to monitor progress towards the SDGs and to examine the environmental and social impacts of sectors. They can then use this information to design policies and actions to support integrated ocean management and SDG achievement. Governments can also use the classification to make decisions on trade-offs across sectors, such as by moving resources away from fisheries subsides and towards sustainable ocean-based sectors where environmental and social benefits are higher than the perceived gain from fisheries subsidies. At the international level, the classification system will support monitoring of progress on SDG 14 and its targets.

The report notes the classification can also provide a starting point for comparing data across countries. Countries could use data collected from the classification to promote trade in ocean-based goods and services or to evaluate market-access opportunities for the purpose of trade negotiations. [Publication: Towards a Harmonized International Trade Classification for the Development of Sustainable Ocean-based Economies]