The Blue Economy is a catch all term that is used to describe a wide variety of development approaches and priorities in the ocean and coastal areas. A number of distinct, and sometimes conflicting discourses have emerged in relation to the Blue Economy, which are distinguished by the degree to which they prioritize different development objectives. This paper explores the range of Blue Economy interpretations, governance strategies and implementation approaches that exist across Commonwealth countries. Key Blue Economy policy statements and governance instruments are analysed in order to ascertain the way the Blue Economy is being institutionalized at a national level, with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Commonwealth Blue Charter. High-level Blue Economy objectives appear to prioritize economic and environmental objectives, with limited engagement with equity objectives including food security and gender equality. Blue Economy objectives are primarily being institutionalized through a diverse array of strategies, plans and policies with limited information on mechanisms for implementation. Finally, there are signs that the Blue Economy may be facilitating a greater degree of integration across sectoral management, with the emergence of range of boundary-crossing arrangements in a number of the countries examined. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Nurturing resilient marine ecosystems’.

The proliferation of the blue economy in political discourse has gained traction in recent years, however, there remains no standardized definition. The triple bottom line goals of economic development, social equity, and environmental conservation are at the center of the blue economy vision. Yet the ambiguities surrounding the term have resulted in considerable variation in how the blue economy is implemented and what is prioritized. This paper takes a global snapshot of current approaches to national level blue economy governance. In doing so this paper provides the first global assessment of blue economy implementation approaches, through the development of a global blue economy database. Using the best available information from policy documents, media releases and other publicly available online information, we comparatively analyzed each country’s governance strategy to assess the level of blue economy development in coastal states around the world. Throughout this paper we outline the novel methodological approach we took in order to develop a tool for analyzing national level blue economy implementation on the global scale. This approach will allow for ongoing and continued analysis of blue economy operationalization as the concept continues to evolve.