Digital tools are changing how the blue economy monitors, manages and protects the ocean, but technology only makes a difference when it solves a real problem and is within reach of the people expected to use it. Marilou Suc, founder of Blue Connection and host of the podcast BlueTech Around the World, has built her career on connecting the start-ups, companies, researchers and public actors who make that possible.
Blue Connection is a strategic advisory firm dedicated to ocean innovation and the blue economy. Based in Toulon, France, it supports innovative companies and organisations with market strategy, business development and ecosystem building. Its approach focuses on innovation for and by the Ocean, connecting technologies, markets and people to create real-world impact
In this interview, she reflects on why innovation rarely happens in isolation, which technologies are having a concrete impact today, and what stands between small and social economy enterprises and the digital transition. She also explains why collaborative ecosystems matter if SMEs are to take part in shaping the sector’s future.
Your work spans consulting, community building, and conversations with innovators through your podcast BlueTech Around the World. How did collaboration and technology become central themes in your journey within the blue economy?
Innovation and collaboration have been part of my professional DNA since the very beginning of my career in the blue economy. My first professional experience was at the Pôle Mer Méditerranée, a maritime innovation cluster, where I discovered first-hand that innovation rarely happens in isolation.
What fascinated me was precisely this ability to connect different worlds: startups, large companies, research centres, universities and public actors, but also different sectors of the blue economy, from fisheries and aquaculture to maritime transport, marine renewable energy, environmental monitoring, coastal resilience or maritime safety.
This shaped the way I understand innovation today. Technology is essential, but innovation can also be social, organisational or regulatory, or simply come from doing things differently. And its real value emerges when knowledge, expertise and people connect.
Over the years, this naturally led me towards increasingly interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and international approaches, looking at the ocean as an interconnected ecosystem rather than through isolated silos.
When I later created Blue Connection and launched my podcast, BlueTech Around the World, I simply carried this DNA with me: connecting people, ideas, technologies and territories to help innovation create real impact.
Through your podcast, you’ve spoken with people using AI, satellite data, IoT and digital platforms to transform fisheries and protect marine life. From these conversations, what technologies do you see having the most concrete impact today?
I would find it difficult to single out one technology, because each one responds to a different need. For me, the most impactful technology is not necessarily the most sophisticated one. It is the one that solves a real problem, is economically accessible, can be easily adopted and integrated into existing practices, and creates tangible value, whether by saving time or money, improving safety, increasing efficiency or reducing environmental impacts.
This is why I always try to bring a business perspective into conversations about innovation. A technology can be brilliant on paper, but if nobody can afford it, use it or build a sustainable business model around it, its impact will remain limited. Ultimately, successful innovation is useful innovation.
I am also particularly interested in technologies inspired by nature, and in solutions developed for one sector that can be transferred to another.
And in an increasingly data-rich ocean, I see enormous potential in combining satellite data, sensors, AI and digital twins to better understand, anticipate and ultimately protect our ocean.
But if you want to discover some of my personal favourites, I invite you to listen to BlueTech Around the World. There are some pretty amazing ocean innovations in the mix!Â
Many small and social economy enterprises in the blue sector struggle to access or adopt these technologies. Based on what you’ve seen, what are the main barriers SMEs face in their digital transition, and how can collaborative approaches help overcome them?
Cost is often the first barrier. Technology requires investment, and for a small organisation, adopting a new tool without being certain of its return can represent a significant risk. But money is only part of the equation.
Integration into existing processes, lack of skills or training, and sometimes infrastructure itself can be equally important. In some remote territories, for example, deploying IoT solutions can still be challenging because connectivity is limited, requiring satellite transmission instead of 4G. There are also human barriers. New technologies can create fears of being monitored, tracked or eventually replaced. This is why digitalisation must start with the value created for the end user. Technology should empower people on the ground, support their decisions and make their work easier, not replace them.
This is where collaboration can make a real difference. Demonstrators, pilots and proofs of concept allow organisations to test solutions and share the initial risk before committing to larger investments. Clusters, cooperatives, professional organisations and public institutions can also pool resources, provide training and create financial incentives.
The digital transition becomes much easier when organisations do not have to leap alone.
Looking ahead, how do you see digital tools and collaborative ecosystems reshaping the future of the blue economy, and why is it important that SMEs are not left behind in this transformation?
I think we are entering a very exciting phase for the blue economy. Many digital tools that have already transformed other industries are now finding new applications in the maritime world. We can learn a lot from sectors such as agriculture, where IoT, remote sensing, AI and data-driven decision-making have already changed the way activities are monitored and managed, and adapt these lessons to fisheries, aquaculture and other blue economy sectors.
But this transformation cannot be driven only by large companies. SMEs are a fundamental part of the blue economy ecosystem and, in some sectors and territories, they represent the majority of economic actors. Enabling them to embrace digitalisation can therefore have an enormous cumulative impact.
This is why collaborative ecosystems will be so important. They can connect SMEs with technology providers, researchers, larger companies, investors and public authorities, while helping innovations circulate between sectors and territories.
For me, the future is not about digitalising the blue economy for the sake of digitalisation. It is about using these tools to make activities more efficient, resilient, sustainable and better informed, while ensuring that the people and businesses closest to the ocean can actively shape that transformation.