Inland waters are important for the ecosystem and the environmental balance. The condition of inland waters is threatened more than other types of ecosystems, like forest or coastal ecosystems. Aim of this study is to adapt the concept of sustainable blue economy that until today refers to the global ocean, to freshwater ecosystems. As no past research has been done under this concept, the added value is the adaptation of a sustainable blue economy framework to inland surface waters, considering their higher vulnerability. Lakes are inland surface water ecosystems that face a series of anthropogenic pressures, and new activities can’t be easily added to this vulnerable type of ecosystem. Moreover, the activities performed in this ecosystem should be lighter, as inland surface water ecosystems are connected to multiple sources of greenhouse gases. Case study of this paper is Ismarida Lake, a natural freshwater lake located in Northern Greece. Ismarida is a natural shallow lake with a mean depth of 1,5 m and vulnerable to nitrate pollution. The lake is part of the National Park of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, while it’s protected by the Ramsar convention, is a wildlife refuge and belongs to the NATURA 2000 network, providing to the local communities and the environment a series of ecosystem services. The DPSIR model was used for the analysis of the pressures on Ismarida lake and the affected ecosystem services. According to the implementation of the DPSIR approach, the drivers that create the pressures on Ismarida Lake are agriculture, livestock, and urbanization. These pressures cause significant impacts on the natural ecosystem of the lake, such as the occurrence of eutrophication phenomena, the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of the water quality and the natural environment. Our results indicate that a series of important ecosystem services are affected by the impacts of the pressures, like climate regulation, recreation, education and nutrient cycling. The enforcement of a strong legislative framework, the implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and the cooperation between stakeholders are some of the steps to a sustainable blue economy in the inland waters of the study area. The application of a sustainable blue economy framework requires a series of actions and will be an important step to the environmental protection of this vulnerable ecosystem.