Blue Food Trade Governance and Sustainable Seafood Rules: From Fisheries Subsidy Disciplines to Traceable Value Chains

Meifang Zhang; Lihang Yu

doi:10.63313/EBM.9204

Authors

Meifang Zhang School of Economics and Trade, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China Author
Lihang Yu School of Economics and Trade, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63313/EBM.9204

Keywords:

Blue Food, Seafood Trade, Fisheries Subsidies, Sustainable Aquaculture, Traceability, Trade Governance

Abstract

Blue food has an increasingly significant strategic role in global food security, nutritional supply, and marine sustainability governance, while seafood trade rules are shifting from traditional border regulation toward value chain governance covering capture, aquaculture, processing, cold chains, certification, and consumption. Using literature analysis, rule analysis, and normative analysis, this paper examines the institutional transformation of blue food trade governance and sustainable seafood rules. The study finds that global seafood trade rules are undergoing four important shifts: fisheries subsidy disciplines are incorporating industrial support into the framework of trade rules and marine resource governance; sustainable aquaculture is gradually becoming a condition for international market access; value chain traceability is being transformed from a food safety tool into a foundation for IUU fishing governance and green compliance; and private certification and digital sustainability assurance are changing the governance structure of global seafood value chains. For China, the high-quality development of seafood trade requires a transition from scale and cost advantages toward subsidy compliance, green aquaculture, digital traceability, and participation in international rule-making.

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