Towards a sustainable blue economy: The criteria for equitable access to fishing opportunities in EU

This research develops and applies the Blue Fishing Index (BFI), a multidimensional, operational and governance‑informed tool designed to assess the sustainable growth of fishing fleets and support equitable allocation of fishing opportunities. Co‑developed with diverse stakeholders through a promoted inclusive governance process, the BFI integrates 25 variables across environmental, economic and social dimensions, providing a transparent and replicable framework grounded in official EU data sources. Using the Spanish fleet as a demonstrator (2018–2019; 7447 vessels aggregated into 63 segments), we conduct an extensive analytical assessment of the index through alternative weighting schemes and variable‑selection scenarios. The BFI reveals clear and quantifiable shifts in sustainability rankings depending on methodological choices, thereby demonstrating its diagnostic capacity to expose trade‑offs, reveal structural inequalities, and identify segments that perform consistently across dimensions. Broader variable inclusion and balanced weighting produce the most stable, coherent and realistic outcomes, whereas simplified or environmentally dominant configurations generate distortions, particularly for large‑scale fleets. Only 10–20% of segments achieve balanced environmental, economic and social performance, underscoring persistent heterogeneity within the fleet. These findings highlight the analytical power of the BFI to test methodological assumptions and evaluate their implications for governance and quota allocation. As such, the BFI provides EU Member States with a robust, evidence‑based mechanism aligned with Article 17 of the CFP (EU), enhancing transparency, legitimacy and fairness in the transition toward a Sustainable Blue Economy.