This article examines the wide acceptance and endorsement of the notion of the blue economy. It places the blue economy at the intersection of three discourses: the placelessness of the sea, development and sustainability. These discourses, originating on land, have spread spatially, narratively and normatively to the marine realm — part of a larger process of the normalization of the sea via its inclusion in the dominant model of economic development. The author uses the concept of horizontal reciprocity to illuminate this process of normalization. The blue economy requires and justifies the governance of maritime space; it creates economic and political opportunities and generates knowledge and interventions, leading to the territorialization of the sea. The article therefore concludes with a call for further research to critically assess the connections between macro discourses and local realities, and to address the current challenges facing the oceans.