New index measures fairness in ocean projects worldwide

A handful of corporations pull billions from the ocean while coastal communities and Indigenous groups are locked out of decisions that reshape their waters. Now, 27 researchers across the globe have built a tool to measure—and push back against—that inequality.

The Ocean Equity Index, published in Nature on January 28, gives governments, companies, and communities a standardized way to assess whether ocean initiatives are actually fair. It sounds technical. It is. But the stakes are simple: offshore energy projects, fishing treaties, aquaculture farms—these shape who gets to use the ocean and who bears the costs.

"Inequality is on the rise," says Jessica Blythe, an associate professor of environmental sustainability at Brock University in Canada and the study's lead author. "A handful of corporations are generating billions in profit while marginalized communities are excluded from management decisions that affect them."

The index works by scoring ocean initiatives against 12 criteria grouped into three types of equity. Recognitional equity asks: Are the people most affected actually recognized as stakeholders? Procedural equity measures whether they get a real voice in decisions, not just a seat at the table. Distributional equity tracks whether benefits and burdens are shared fairly—not hoarded by investors while communities absorb the environmental and economic risk.

For each type, researchers identified two core principles, then two measurable criteria per principle. The result is a framework that moves beyond vague promises of "community engagement" to concrete, comparable metrics.

What makes this different from previous attempts is its reach and specificity. The index can be applied to everything from renewable energy installations to fishing regulations to coastal conservation zones. It's designed to work across different governance systems and cultural contexts, which means a coastal community in Southeast Asia and a First Nations group in Canada can both use it to hold projects accountable.

Blythe is clear about what comes next: "Once we start tracking equity, we're going to see big changes." The index won't enforce anything on its own. But measurement creates visibility, and visibility creates pressure. When a corporation's ocean project scores poorly on procedural equity, investors, regulators, and communities will see it.

The research team included scientists and policy experts from institutions worldwide, which itself reflects the index's core principle—that ocean governance works better when diverse voices shape the tools that measure it. The index is being released openly, available for governments and organizations to adopt and refine.

For coastal communities that have watched ocean resources extracted while they're left with degraded ecosystems and broken promises, this is the kind of tool that transforms from abstract to essential the moment it's used.