Blue Justice and Equitable Access

Blue justice aims to ensure equitable access and fairness in ocean governance, directly addressing the marginalization of small-scale fishers and coastal communities in blue growth initiatives. It focuses on recognizing rights, ensuring participatory decision-making, and promoting fair distribution of marine resources to prevent injustices like ocean grabbing. 
 

Blue justice is the principle that access to ocean resources — and the power to make decisions about them — must be fair and inclusive. Across the Caribbean, millions of people depend on the sea for their food, income, and cultural identity. Yet the communities who rely on the ocean most — small-scale fisherfolk, women working in the seafood trade, youth, and Indigenous peoples — are often left out of the rooms where decisions about marine resources get made. Blue justice means changing that. It calls for equal representation at policy tables, fair access to fishing grounds and markets, and legal protections that recognise the rights of those who have fished and cared for these waters for generations.