Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Decolonising Ocean Matter File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9397 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.9397 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9397 Author-Name: Helge Mooshammer Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Art and Design, TU Wien, Austria / Department of Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK Abstract: Oceans occupy a central place in the centuries‐long unfolding of European colonialism. They form the interstice between the base of the coloniser and the “overseas” territories of the colonised. As an unsettling body, a realm that cannot be settled in, oceans at once separate and connect the Earth’s different continents. This simultaneity of separation and connection has become indicative of the contradictions shaping the pursuit of interests in oceanic and “overseas” territories up to the present day: from the competitive, speculation‐driven race to stake claims to ocean resources to the ostensibly peaceful agendas driving the scientific exploration of oceans’ final, unknown frontiers. This article examines the essential role of cultural storytelling in facilitating these processes by looking at how a growing wave of scientist settlements is encroaching on remaining unconquered spheres in the most remote parts of the oceans such as the polar regions. It highlights how an incessant spectacularisation of their futuristic architectures domesticises these endeavours to master a hostile environment as a matter of making oneself at home and settling in. In order to challenge such possessive, human‐centric investments in oceanic territories, the article contrasts these developments with two examples of artistic research, A World of Matter (2014) and Frontier Climates (2017), which aim to offer a decolonial perspective through other forms of representation and knowledge production. Discussing the conceptual approach of these projects, it draws attention to more‐than‐human ecologies to reframe our understanding of marine life away from contested rights of access and towards global commons. Keywords: artistic research; colonialism; decolonisation; polar architecture; polar research Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9397 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Cut Off by the Tide: How Ocean Literacy Can Help Save Lives File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9793 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.9793 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9793 Author-Name: Elisabeth S. Morris‐Webb Author-Workplace-Name: School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, UK / Nordland Research Institute, Norway Author-Name: Martin Austin Author-Workplace-Name: Bangor University Author-Name: Chris Cousens Author-Workplace-Name: Royal National Lifeboat Institution, UK Author-Name: Naomi Kent Author-Workplace-Name: Royal National Lifeboat Institution, UK Author-Name: Kat Gosney Author-Workplace-Name: Royal National Lifeboat Institution, UK Author-Name: Thora Tenbrink Author-Workplace-Name: School of Arts, Culture and Language, Bangor University, UK Abstract: The UN Agenda 2030 promotes safe access to green spaces, and the Ocean Decade aims to enhance humanity’s preparedness for ocean hazards and its relationship with the ocean. The tide is not considered an ocean hazard, yet half of the world’s coastline is susceptible to tides rising more than two meters in a single tidal cycle and globally >300,000 people per annum lose their lives to drowning. We undertook the first nationally representative survey of public understanding of tide, revealing that over a quarter of the British and Irish public struggled to read a basic tide table. More than one in seven reported having been cut off by the tide, or nearly so. Common misconceptions leading to cut off included the tide coming in much faster and stronger than expected, and often from a different direction. This demonstrates a national failure to understand the variability in tidal movement—one of the most fundamental aspects of the ocean. As the “ocean literacy” agenda advocates for increased access and connection to the ocean, to enable responsible delivery of ocean literacy, it is crucial to understand and increase the public knowledge of tidal variability. This will enable people to enjoy safe access and positive “emoceans” around the rapidly changing, and increasingly risky, marine environment of the future. We suggest considering the addition of a new essential principle of ocean science aiming to improve societal tidal literacy and risk recognition on the coast. Keywords: beach safety; cut off by tide; drowning; ocean hazard; ocean literacy; tidal cut off; tidal inundation Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9793 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Impact Through Transdisciplinary Centres: Reflecting on Ocean‐Related Centres at Two Universities in Northern Europe File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8886 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.8886 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8886 Author-Name: Linus Brunnström Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economy and Society, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Author-Name: Lena Gipperth Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Author-Name: Maureen McKelvey Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economy and Society, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Abstract: A healthy ocean is crucial for a sustainable future. Universities play a key role in supporting societies to understand marine ecosystems, humanity’s impact on them, and how to uncover sustainable solutions. This practice‐based article examines how universities can enhance their societal impact by developing new organizational models that integrate research, education, and collaboration with societal stakeholders. It poses critical questions: What incentives drive researchers to make an impact or make their results usable? How can universities promote pathways to societal impact? And how do new organizational forms, such as transdisciplinary centres, influence traditional university structures? The article compares two transdisciplinary centres, the Centre for Sea and Society at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Center for Ocean and Society at Kiel University, Germany. Both centres aim to address urgent ocean‐related challenges by fostering collaboration across disciplines and engaging external stakeholders. Gothenburg’s centre works across seven faculties, promoting a broad range of activities, while Kiel’s centre has a more focused agenda on marine resource management, geohazards, and food security, supported partly by government funding through the university. Key findings reveal that while these centres play a vital role in building networks and addressing global sustainability challenges, they face challenges in securing funding, integrating into traditional university structures, and measuring societal impact. Kiel’s core funding allows a long‐term strategy, but most work still depends on project funding whereas Gothenburg’s reliance on university resources requires regular justification of its relevance. Balancing academic missions with societal impact remains a central trade‐off, but these centres demonstrate how universities can advance transdisciplinary research and contribute to a sustainable future. Keywords: future university models; marine research; ocean solutions; transdisciplinary centres; university impact Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8886 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Knowledge Integration in Ocean Governance File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/10391 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.10391 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 10391 Author-Name: Annegret Kuhn Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Ocean and Society, Kiel University, Germany Author-Name: Dorothea Wehrmann Author-Workplace-Name: Inter‐ and Transnational Cooperation, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany Abstract: The integration of diverse knowledges is considered essential in ocean governance to understand and address the complex and transboundary changes affecting oceans and societies. In this line, also the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Development (2021–2030) calls for “the science we need for the ocean we want” (UNESCO, n.d.) and the 5th International Polar Year (2032–2033) evolves around “the urgent need for coordinated international research to tackle the biggest challenges of polar research, for both the Polar Regions themselves and for the world as a whole” (International Polar Year, n.d.). This thematic issue derives from the notion that the coordination and integration of diverse knowledges to develop advanced understandings is a political process shaped by, amongst other things, societal inequalities and different forms of governance. To assess the implication of this notion for the governance of the oceans—the “common heritage of humankind” (United Nations Law of the Sea)—this thematic issue explores knowledge integration processes in ocean governance. It sheds light on different governance formats, the role of participatory and co‐creative approaches to knowledge integration, their potentials, limitations, and related micropolitics. Keywords: 5th International Polar Year; co‐creation; knowledge integration; ocean and coastal governance; participation; United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Development Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:10391 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Epistemic Oscillation: Living With Ocean Risks File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8885 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8885 Author-Name: Irina Rafliana Author-Workplace-Name: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany / National Agency for Research and Innovation (BRIN), Indonesia / Center for Life Ethics, University of Bonn, Germany Abstract: The year 2024 marks two decades since the Indian Ocean tsunami, known as the Boxing Day catastrophe, which far surpassed other devastating geological events of the 21st‐century on humankind. Paradoxically, the epitome of tsunamis carries regenerative agency. It moves science and technologies across territories, proliferates knowledge production, and boosts innovations of warning systems as a critical part of ocean risk governance. In many cases, humans gradually distanced themselves from memories of past events due to the “high risk and low return period” of events. Through diverse risk perceptions, cultures, and beliefs, coupled with rapid human mobilities, the once proliferated knowledge could also be unlearned and forgotten. When knowledge on tsunamis is scarce or about to become extinct, no earthly process greater than tsunamis could bring back and sustain such knowledge. Like tsunami waves, this article argues that knowledge also refracts and oscillates. This article proposes epistemic oscillation as a conceptual lens as one of the ways to understand complex human and non‐human entanglements, highlighting humans’ dependent relations to geological dynamics, using the cases of the Palu 2018 tsunami as a testbed. By doing so, the article also argues that such lenses are useful in tracing the importance of understanding ambiguities in tsunami risk governance. By deploying an affective turn to ocean materialities and micropolitics as research methods, this article proposes alternative ways to unfold the multiplicities of social and geological realities and epistemic mobilities in the hyper‐complex challenges of knowledge integration and ocean risk governance. Keywords: epistemic oscillation; Indian Ocean; micropolitics; oceanic events; tsunami Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8885 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Taking Ocean Literacy Literally: Reflections on Literature’s Influence on Ocean Literacy File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9484 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.9484 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9484 Author-Name: Michelle E. Portman Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Israel Author-Name: Jordana Portman Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Education in Science and Technology, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Israel Abstract: Throughout history, literature has focused on humankind’s complex relationship with the sea. Although culture, and literature in particular, has offered readers an opportunity to learn about and connect with the ocean realm when it comes to public engagement in marine planning, which is an opportunity to take part in the allocation of ocean resources, a majority of the public is often uninvolved and unconcerned. In this article, we reflect on portrayals of the sea in literary texts from three time periods: the mid‐19th century (pre‐World War I), the mid‐20th century (post‐World War II), and the 21st century (current times). We point out how ocean themes are of interest in parallel with important societal shifts, tensions, and “currents.” Further, we contend that these popular literary works, or those considered canonical, contribute to ocean literacy today, as they likely did around the time of their publication. In today’s world, exposure to literature that deals with the sea could lead to greater public engagement in ocean decision‐making. The ability to make decisions about ocean resources is particularly important for ecosystem‐based management, which is the basis for best practices in marine planning. As with many themes dealt with in many modes of culture (music, art, theatre, etc.), literary works can contribute to marine citizenship as manifested by greater public involvement in marine planning and (perhaps) greater protection of ocean resources. Keywords: ecosystem‐based management; literature; marine spatial planning; ocean literacy; public engagement; public knowledge; public participation Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9484 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Competing Knowledges and Sovereignties in the French Pacific Oceanscapes File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9321 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9321 Author-Name: Pierre-Yves Le Meur Author-Workplace-Name: Savoirs Environnements Sociétés (SENS), French Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), New Caledonia Author-Name: Valelia Muni Toke Author-Workplace-Name: Structure et Dynamique des Langues (SeDyL), French Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), France Abstract: In France, the notion of “deep‐sea/deep‐seabed” (“grands fonds marins”) has emerged fairly recently in public policy discourse, and in particular in the wake of the 2009 Grenelle de la Mer, which marked the French government’s desire for an integrated maritime policy. The Grenelle de la Mer is a public process of reflection and negotiation between the French government, elected representatives, economic and professional stakeholders in maritime affairs, and civil society, organized by the French Ministry for Sustainable Development and the Sea. Grenelle refers to the collective negotiation, initiated by the government in May 1968, with representatives of trade unions and industrial organizations, and held at the Ministry of Labor Headquarters in Grenelle Street in Paris. A national strategy regarding the deep‐sea was developed in 2015 and updated in 2020 through a working group led by the General Secretariat for the Sea (under the authority of the prime minister), in which the authors of this article participated. This working group was made up of representatives from the relevant ministries, research institutes, and industry via the French Maritime Cluster. The French overseas territories were absent, even though the areas in question were mainly located in the French Pacific, which accounts for around two‐thirds of the French exclusive economic zone (68%, 6.9 out of 10.2 million km2 ). In addition, New Caledonia and French Polynesia have jurisdiction over their exclusive economic zones while Wallis‐and‐Futuna has no formal sovereignty in this area. France’s maritime policy, and in particular its deep‐sea strategy, is indicative of the relationship between the French state and its overseas territories, particularly in Oceania, marked by disregard, tension, and instrumentalization. This dynamic also extends to the knowledge issue and the lack of recognition of Indigenous voices in these matters. This article will analyze this situation of epistemic injustice while underscoring the differences and commonalities in the three territories’ trajectories regarding the interplay between sovereignty, environment, indigeneity, and development. Keywords: Deep‐sea governance; deep‐sea mining; epistemic justice; French Pacific territories; ocean governance; politics of knowledge Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9321 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: A Data‐Driven History of Gloucester's Fisheries Architecture File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9365 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.9365 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9365 Author-Name: Rafael Sousa Santos Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Portugal Author-Name: André Tavares Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Portugal Abstract: This article presents the methods and preliminary results of research into the socio‐ecological history of the Gloucester fisheries, with a focus on the interactions between humans and marine ecosystems. It explores how these interactions are reflected on land through the built environment and assesses the impact of human activity on marine life. The study is part of a broader research project examining the industrialization of fisheries along the North Atlantic coast. The objectives of this research are to establish a historical timeline of the Gloucester fisheries between 1880 and 1930, integrate statistical and geospatial data, and explore modalities for visualization and communication. Using a mixed‐methods approach, the study is organized around five datasets that combine written, statistical, and geospatial evidence: Fishing Grounds, Fishing Fleets, Population Shifts, Industry Footprint, and Processing Plants. Although the results are still inconclusive, this research aims to lay the groundwork for an experimental methodology that will be further developed. The goal is to enhance historical analysis by introducing an environmental perspective, assessing the pressures on ecosystems, and grounding the analysis in quantitative statistical and geospatial data. Keywords: digital humanities; environmental studies; fisheries; fishing architecture; marine ecosystems; urban history Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9365 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Investigating Port Spatiality: Tools for a Spatial Approach to Port Clusters File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9285 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.9285 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9285 Author-Name: Beatrice Moretti Author-Workplace-Name: Department Architecture and Design, University of Genoa, Italy Abstract: Today, half of European port managing bodies administer two or more ports. Contemporary port‐city territories are increasingly shaped by processes of “spatial clustering,” which call for a reassessment of the tools used to investigate and design these areas. Port clusterization refers to the administrative aggregation of two or more ports into clusters, a phenomenon that has the potential to affect port spatiality by defining a new spatial typology of ports, characterized by polycentricity and territorial extension. Despite the absence of established theories and tools for analysing such extended spaces, the rise of port clusters is giving way to new governance models for optimizing coastal areas and specializing land–sea infrastructures. This article, part of the EU‐funded PULSE (The Port‐clUster LandScapE) project, examines the impacts of port clusterization by introducing the concept of “port‐cluster landscapes”—whose investigation contributes to developing a spatial and design‐based approach to ports. In this context, the port‐cluster landscape emerges as a spatial typology of interconnected ports and overlapping flow systems. Methodologically, the article outlines the tools formulated to study two Italian port clusters, including multi‐level maps and the Indicator System, a set of 12 spatial indicators conceived within the framework of the project and being applied to these cases. Ultimately, the article explores port spatiality, highlighting the need for new regional collaborations and spatial reconceptualization, which can be fostered through transformative design projects in the context of port clusterization. Keywords: multi‐level maps; port city territory; port cluster; port spatiality; spatial engagement; spatial stretching; technical lands Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9285 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Global Maritime Flows and Local Implications: Conceptualising a Worldwide Taxonomy and Glossary of Port‐City‐Regions File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/10067 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.10067 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 10067 Author-Name: Mina Akhavan Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Architecture, TU Delft, The Netherlands Author-Name: Yvonne van Mil Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Architecture, TU Delft, The Netherlands Author-Name: Carola Hein Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Architecture, TU Delft, The Netherlands Abstract: The dynamic interplay between global maritime flows and the spatial, economic, and social development of port‐city‐regions lies at the heart of this thematic issue. As globalisation accelerates, the relationships between ports, cities, and their surrounding regions become increasingly complex, requiring innovative conceptual frameworks, methodologies, and interdisciplinary collaborations to address both challenges and opportunities. Flows of goods and people shape infrastructural networks and create nodes of logistics and administration in and around nearby cities. They establish specific networks that primarily facilitate transport. Multiple approaches and definitions exist to describe and map these unique spaces. This thematic issue of Ocean and Society aims to advance our understanding of these phenomena by exploring a range of terminologies, typologies, spatial transformations, and examples of sustainable practices across diverse geographic contexts. Keywords: data; global maritime activities; mapping; port‐city interface; port‐city planning; sustainability; transition Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:10067 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: A Heuristic for Integrating Sense of Place Into Ocean Governance File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9796 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9796 Author-Name: Joe Duggan Author-Workplace-Name: Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Australia Author-Name: Christopher Cvitanovic Author-Workplace-Name: School of Business, University of New South Wales, Australia / Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, University of New South Wales, Australia Author-Name: Ingrid van Putten Author-Workplace-Name: Wageningen Economic Research, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands Author-Name: Sarah Clement Author-Workplace-Name: Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Australia Abstract: Sense of place (SoP) is a powerful yet underutilised social value with significant potential to improve collaboration and inclusivity in ocean governance. Recent evidence, however, has shown that a range of barriers prevent the routine integration of SoP in this space. To help overcome this, this commentary proposes a preliminary heuristic—or rules of thumb—that can help guide researchers and practitioners to help them incorporate SoP into ocean governance. The heuristic emphasizes fostering collaboration, inclusivity, and shared understanding among diverse stakeholders and non‐academic actors. It advocates for the co‐production of knowledge across disciplines and institutions, iterative reflexivity to address positionality, and the creation of shared definitions and measures of SoP tailored to specific contexts. It explores balancing a broad conceptual understanding of SoP with localized tangible applications to ensure relevance and impact. Celebrating “bright spots,” or successful instances where research has informed policy, is also highlighted as a way to inspire and support the utilization of SoP in management decisions. By utilizing SoP as a relational tool, we posit that ocean governance practitioners can enhance trust, promote more meaningful stakeholder engagement, and align diverse perspectives toward common goals, thus building more inclusive and collaborative management practices. Keywords: marine management; ocean governance; sense of place; social values; stakeholder collaboration Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9796 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Immersion in Discomfort: At the Intersection of Worldviews Toward Co‐Governing With Integrity File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9198 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9198 Author-Name: Randa Sacedon Author-Workplace-Name: Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia Author-Name: Tillmann Boehme Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Business and Law, School of Business, University of Wollongong, Australia Author-Name: Freya Croft Author-Workplace-Name: Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia Author-Name: Jodi Edwards Author-Workplace-Name: Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia Author-Name: Anna Farmery Author-Workplace-Name: Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia Author-Name: Eleanor McNeill Author-Workplace-Name: Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia Author-Name: Makrita Solitei Author-Workplace-Name: Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia Author-Name: Michelle Voyer Author-Workplace-Name: Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia Abstract: In the drive to embrace more inclusive, equitable, and respectful approaches to research, academics are increasingly encouraged to engage with diverse and alternate knowledges, including with First Nations and Indigenous Communities. Yet for those working at the intersection of different worldviews—known as the “cultural interface”—the experience can be accompanied by feelings of discomfort. We recognise discomfort as a personal, inner emotion of vulnerability that alerts us to unspoken, difficult conversations; to challenged beliefs and assumptions; and to the limits of our own knowledge. As a group of academics working at the cultural interface, we identify common themes across our collective experiences of discomfort, including fragility and guilt, helplessness, fear, ignorance, shame, challenged conceptions of time, and finally connection and relationality. By openly discussing and confronting our experiences of discomfort, we demonstrate that immersion in discomfort is a journey that provides opportunities for learning, understanding, and fostering co‐governing partnerships with integrity. Keywords: co‐governance; cultural interface; discomfort; First Nations; Indigenous; integrity; knowledge; ocean governance; partnerships; worldview Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9198 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: A Gendered Blue Economy? Critical Perspectives Through Women’s Participation in Peru File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9167 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9167 Author-Name: Sara Doolittle Llanos Author-Workplace-Name: artec Sustainability Research Center, University of Bremen, Germany Author-Name: María Garteizgogeascoa Author-Workplace-Name: artec Sustainability Research Center, University of Bremen, Germany Author-Name: Isabel E. Gonzales Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Peru Abstract: Peru’s maritime waters and their natural resources have long been appropriated as part of the country’s economic development. While several historical analyses have covered the management and use of marine resources, few have focused on gender relations in these processes. In order to help fill this gap, we use an ethnographic approach, through the qualitative analysis of interviews carried out between 2021 and 2022 with three women involved in Peru’s artisanal small‐scale fisheries and scallop aquaculture industry. Through their life trajectories, we discuss how these women became key actors within the Peruvian blue economy and the role that concrete and situated gender relations played in that process. We present a critical analysis of women’s agency and involvement in the blue economy and how the economic opportunities offered are constrained by gender norms, male dominance, and the precarious nature of (in)formal labor. We suggest a need to shift from a focus on blue growth to a more inclusive concept of blue justice that deals with structural inequalities ingrained in current modes of extractivism and aims to secure fair opportunities for all genders in marine‐related activities. Keywords: aquaculture; blue economy; blue growth; blue justice; gender equity; Peru; small‐scale fisheries Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9167 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Into the (Gendered) Blue: New Perspectives on Gender Equality and Participation in Blue Growth File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9953 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9953 Author-Name: Magnus Boström Author-Workplace-Name: Kalmar Maritime Academy, Linnaeus University, Sweden Author-Name: Kristina Svels Author-Workplace-Name: Natural Resources Institute, Finland Author-Name: Milena Arias Schreiber Author-Workplace-Name: School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Abstract: In the context of the global adoption of the blue economy agenda, new challenges and opportunities emerge for gender mainstreaming in traditional male‐dominated maritime industries. This thematic issue mobilizes knowledge on barriers and structural hindrances faced by women in the blue economy, from exclusionary workplace norms and hierarchies to inadequate support for work–life balance. These hindrances discourage women’s entry and retention in industries like fisheries, aquaculture, maritime transportation, and marine research. Lessons from the Nordic countries, which have significantly advanced gender equality and adopted numerous policies to enhance gender inclusivity, show that in the absence of effective implementation and evaluation of policy impacts, policies alone are not effective. Using gender as an analytical perspective reveals the importance of language and discourses in advancing gender inclusion, highlights issues of intersectionality across national borders, and exposes the need for blue justice alongside blue economy agendas. The collection of articles underscores the need for both systemic change and localized, tailored interventions. The methodological contribution exemplifies how discourse analysis unpacks societal norms, while ethnography reveals on‐the‐ground experiences of exclusion and resistance. Furthermore, tracking career trajectories provides data‐driven insights into workforce retention, while interviews analyze the nuanced motivations and challenges women face. It is concluded that the agendas of the blue economy and gender equality could be indeed compatible, however, it must be acknowledged that the way these two can be simultaneously pursued remains a challenge that needs action. Keywords: aquaculture; blue economy; blue growth; blue justice; fisheries; gender; marine research; maritime transportation; seafarer; sustainability Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9953 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Participatory Governance? A Critical Perspective on Stakeholder Knowledge Integration in the Context of German Baltic MPAs File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9239 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9239 Author-Name: Neele Neddersen Author-Workplace-Name: School of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany / Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Fisheries sciences, University of Hamburg, Germany Author-Name: Josefine B. Gottschalk Author-Workplace-Name: Independent Researcher, Germany Author-Name: Michael Kriegl Author-Workplace-Name: Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Germany Author-Name: Heike Schwermer Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural Economics, Kiel University, Germany / Center for Ocean and Society, Kiel University, Germany Abstract: The ocean is under increasing pressure from various human activities, including overfishing, pollution, and climate change. In response to these challenges, marine protected areas (MPAs) have emerged as important and widely applied tools for conserving and restoring marine ecosystems. Considering the complexity of identifying appropriate management measures and the resulting dynamics of their implementation, the integration of various knowledge types is of crucial importance. Germany has evolved as a leading advocate for marine conservation, playing an influential role in global conservation efforts. This context provides an interesting opportunity for examining the social and political dynamics of MPA implementation. In this study, we investigate the role of participatory approaches to knowledge integration using the case of two MPAs located in the German exclusive economic zone of the Baltic Sea. To this end, we conducted and analyzed 13 interviews with stakeholders from fisheries, environmental protection, public administration, and science. This approach was complemented by the review of documents leading to the adoption of the management plans. Our research addresses two key questions: (a) How much and what kind of knowledge is included in the management plan of the two German Baltic Sea MPAs and (b) how does this institutional framework promote or hinder the integration of diverse knowledge types? Our findings highlight the obstacles (e.g., power imbalances between different participation levels) of participatory governance levels in the two German MPAs. Thus, this study provides valuable insights for enhancing the effectiveness of participatory governance in German MPAs, thereby advancing marine conservation efforts. Keywords: Baltic Sea; exclusive economic zone; institutional framework; knowledge types; marine protected area; nature conservation; participatory governance; social‐ecological system; stakeholder participation Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9239 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Ocean as Metaphor and Embodiment File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9396 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.9396 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9396 Author-Name: Peter Mörtenböck Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Art and Design, TU Wien, Austria / Department of Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK Abstract: In a climate of increasing political instability and social transformation, scholarly discourses have started to foreground the fluidity of form as essential for human and inter‐species co‐existence. There is a pervasiveness in contemporary society of what Zygmunt Bauman, in his analysis of “liquid,” software‐based modernity, refers to as form immersed in and affected by conditions of uncertainty, insecurity, and unsafety. Many anthropologists and sociologists have argued that the efficacy of such a form is grounded in its state of emergence, that is, in the ways it both exceeds and is continuous with its constitutive parts. Artists expressing this contingent fluidity often draw our attention to the ocean as a site of emergence and creation. Today, much of this artistic reimagining of ocean life is executed digitally and dramatised by liquefying solid objects that morph into other, less familiar shapes. New environments are being generated, particularly by means of AI, that are freed from the burdens of the present. The association with the ocean’s currents frames the liquefaction of unmoored, drifting, and blurred entities as an opportunity for change and a metaphor for the world to come. Discussing the work of media artists such as Refik Anadol, this article situates the agency of artistic production within a broader shift towards the conditions of liquid modernity and suggests ways to confront aesthetically pleasing sensations with art that recognises the inequitable impacts of societal transformation. It argues for an ocean that is both metaphorical and embodied, liquid, and more than wet. Keywords: artistic agency; AI; liquid modernity; media art; ocean art Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9396 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Decarbonising Maritime Transport: The Role of Green Shipping Corridors in Making Sustainable Port‐City Ecosystems File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9411 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.9411 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9411 Author-Name: Mina Akhavan Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft, The Netherlands Abstract: Maritime transport plays a crucial role in global trade and tourism, yet it significantly contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions, posing environmental challenges that demand urgent solutions. This article explores the innovative concept of maritime green shipping corridors, an emerging strategy aimed at decarbonising the shipping industry. By analysing the origins of green corridors from urban and transportation perspectives, the article outlines their evolution towards multimodal, zero‐emission shipping solutions. It highlights the role of international frameworks, such as the International Maritime Organization Clydebank Declaration, in facilitating the transition to green shipping routes and the proliferation of zero‐carbon fuels. The article also assesses the integration of renewable energy technologies, alternative fuels, and electrification in port operations, as well as the broader spatial and economic impacts on port‐city ecosystems. With the potential to enhance urban sustainability, promote green logistics, and drive global decarbonisation efforts, maritime green shipping corridors represent a crucial framework for future research and policy development. However, the article highlights the need for further studies to evaluate the socio‐economic and environmental impacts on local communities and regional planning. Keywords: green shipping corridors; maritime transport decarbonization; renewable energy in ports; port‐city ecosystem Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9411 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Waterfront Redevelopment Five Decades Later: An Updated Typology and Research Agenda File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9265 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.9265 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9265 Author-Name: Enrico Tommarchi Author-Workplace-Name: Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee, UK Abstract: Since the second half of the twentieth century, when maritime practices began migrating outside their traditional central city areas, urban regeneration at the water’s edge has been one of the key issues in port cities’ planning agendas. Waterfronts in port cities have become strategic areas for a range of reasons, such as economic growth, city branding, and addressing housing pressures. However, recent studies also show how their transformation is now more profoundly influenced by hypermobile capital and global finance, and by broad sustainability concerns. The established narrative of waterfront redevelopment as a response to weakening port‐city relationships no longer necessarily represents the present of all port cities, as more nuanced accounts are needed. With examples from Europe and across the world, this article reflects on waterfront redevelopment practices, by building on existing attempts to provide typologies and periodise the history of this phenomenon and focussing on the key approaches emerging in the last decades. It is argued that today’s approaches to waterfront redevelopment, and ultimately contemporary relationships between ports and cities, are changing and possibly differentiating from the “port out, city in” rationale underpinning past schemes. Current practices appear to be ranging from the wholesale transformation of redundant waterfronts into neoliberal urban spaces for consumption and capital accumulation to more “fine‐grained” planning strategies to build more (environmentally, but also economically, socially, and culturally) sustainable urban waterfronts by integrating or restoring port‐related activities within mixed‐used areas. Keywords: port cities; port‐city relationships; urban regeneration; waterfront redevelopment Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9265 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Between Containers and Warehouses: Rehabilitating Port Proximities in UAE Coastal Cities File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/9306 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/oas.9306 Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 9306 Author-Name: Hiba Farhat Author-Workplace-Name: Barker Langham, UAE Author-Name: Ayman Kassem Author-Workplace-Name: College of Art, Architecture and Design, Ajman University, UAE Abstract: Len Chapman’s early photographs of Port Rashid serve as an entry point into the narrative of port construction and its profound impact on global commerce and urban landscapes. These images, capturing the nascent stages of development, bear witness to the monumental transformations spurred by the construction of new ports and the modernization of historical ones in the UAE. The rapid economic and urban growth in the UAE, exemplified by projects like Port Rashid, reflects broader shifts in Gulf port geopolitics and global trade dynamics. The emergence of megaports and the era of containerization have reshaped maritime infrastructure and trade routes. This gave rise to unintended consequences, such as the disruption of coastal urban fabrics and the emergence of residual unsolved spaces. Recent recovery and rehabilitation processes like “districtification,” museumification, and cultural reuse raise critical questions about long‐term sustainability, public access preservation, and achieving a balance between passive and active engagement with port proximities. This article delves into specific case studies, including the Al Hamra ghost village, Al Shindagha, and MIZA Abu Dhabi to explore the impacts of maritime capitalism on urban and cultural landscapes. These sites reveal the challenges of balancing economic growth with sustainable urban recovery efforts, including “districtification,” museumification, and cultural reuse. The analysis underscores the complexities of ensuring long‐term sustainability, public access, and active engagement in port‐adjacent areas. By adopting descriptive and comparative methodologies, this research aims to deepen the understanding of how maritime commerce shapes coastal urban areas in the UAE. The study contributes to discussions on sustainable urban development and heritage preservation, emphasizing the need for mindful urban planning in the Gulf’s rapidly evolving and economically competitive landscape. Keywords: coastal urban fabrics; cultural reuse; heritage preservation; port construction; maritime capitalism; museumification; port‐city; port proximities; UAE; urban landscapes Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:9306 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: “Other(ed)” Ocean Knowledges: Unlearning Integration in Ocean Governance for Recognitional Justice File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8875 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8875 Author-Name: Giulia Champion Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick, UK / Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton, UK Author-Name: Mia Strand Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Department of Development Studies, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa Abstract: There is an increasing call for the need to “integrate” Indigenous and local knowledge systems in ocean governance processes, on national and global scales. However, the knowledge systems, epistemes, and practices of different Indigenous and local coastal communities, whose stewardship of the planet sustains and protects marine ecosystems, pre‐date the institutionalised ocean sciences and governance with which they are meant to be integrated. The concept of integration often perpetuates othering and devaluation of various ocean knowledges that should not be subject to these problematic practices. Much of the current knowledge informing ocean governance is underpinned by colonial, military, and financial projects, in direct juxtaposition to epistemes and practices that are deeply interconnected with marine life. Writing from a marine social sciences perspective, we explore the inherent problems and limitations of integration approaches and propose reversing how we frame “knowledge” and its othering by suggesting that our scientific and governance practices are, in fact, “other” to longstanding ways of coexisting with the ocean. Without attempting to represent Indigenous knowledge systems or categorise these as unaware of scientific developments, we argue that researchers and scientists need to actively unlearn what is taught in prominent ocean sciences. By focusing on global governance through the International Seabed Authority and national ocean governance in South Africa, respectively, we explore knowledge othering and the process of unlearning what ocean governance teaches as knowledge integration to better critically consider how the ocean is, has been, and should be valued. Keywords: knowledge integration processes; ocean knowledges; ocean governance; othering; recognitional justice; unlearning Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8875 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: From Individual Observations to Global Assessments: Tracing the Marine Carbon Knowledge Value Chain File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8891 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8891 Author-Name: Mirja Schoderer Author-Workplace-Name: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany / Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands Author-Name: Henry Bittig Author-Workplace-Name: Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Germany Author-Name: Birgit Klein Author-Workplace-Name: The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), Germany Author-Name: Ramona Hägele Author-Workplace-Name: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany / Julius‐Maximilians‐University of Würzburg, Germany Author-Name: Tobias Steinhoff Author-Workplace-Name: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany Author-Name: Karel Castro‐Morales Author-Workplace-Name: Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany Author-Name: Leticia Cotrim da Cunha Author-Workplace-Name: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Author-Name: Anna‐Katharina Hornidge Author-Workplace-Name: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany Author-Name: Arne Körtzinger Author-Workplace-Name: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany / Kiel University, Germany Abstract: Marine carbon observations (MCOs) provide essential data to trace historical and current changes in marine carbon storage and fluxes that ultimately feed into the Global Carbon Budget and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. Therefore, MCOs play a key role in informing global climate policy as well as ocean governance. However, they only achieve this potential if multiple sources of observations are combined and analyzed jointly. This implies an immense coordination effort by the international MCO community which developed, e.g., joint standards for the collection of (meta‐)data, quality control processes, data platforms, etc. This article traces the value chain of MCOs, concretely for CO2, from data collection to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. Based on an interdisciplinary research project, the study illuminates which structures and practices the marine carbon community has developed to integrate different observations and measurement technologies, starting from German research institutes and agencies and expanding to the European and international networks to which they contribute. Combining a social network analysis with qualitative insights from in‐depth interviews, the article identifies key information providers and brokers and pinpoints systemic vulnerabilities, e.g., where connections between observation networks or data platforms are maintained based on personal relationships or ad‐hoc interactions rather than automated data submissions, or where temporally limited third party funding threatens the continued existence of the observation network. Keywords: integrated knowledge production; marine carbon cycle; marine carbon observations; marine CO2; ocean and climate Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8891 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Identifying Ocean‐Related Literature Using the UN Second World Ocean Assessment Report File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8924 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8924 Author-Name: Rémi Toupin Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Information Science, Dalhousie University, Canada Author-Name: Geoff Krause Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Information Science, Dalhousie University, Canada Author-Name: Poppy Nicolette Riddle Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Information Science, Dalhousie University, Canada Author-Name: Madelaine Hare Author-Workplace-Name: Digital Transformation and Innovation, University of Ottawa, Canada Author-Name: Philippe Mongeon Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Information Science, Dalhousie University, Canada Abstract: In recent years, ocean governance has called for strategic action and science‐informed policy to work towards the sustainable development of the ocean, most notably as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030). This common framework identifies the integration of scientific knowledge in governance as a key process to deliver solutions responding to the current challenges, opportunities, and transformations posed by global change in the oceans. This article presents a methodological approach for identifying ocean‐related research outputs and documenting research‐based knowledge integration in documents that inform ocean governance. Specifically, this study builds on an analysis of the references included in the UN Second World Ocean Assessment report to (a) identify and describe the research outputs cited in the distinct chapters of the report, (b) identify research outputs relevant to ocean governance through the analysis of citations from and to references included in the UN Second World Ocean Assessment, (c) compare both datasets to examine the position of the literature cited in the report within a broader ecosystem of ocean‐related research, and (d) present a method to identify topically relevant research that could be integrated in future ocean assessments. Our findings show distinct referencing practices across chapters and expert groups and a higher reliance on high‐profile sources in the report compared to a broader dataset of ocean research outputs. Moreover, this study highlights an innovative approach to identifying ocean research based on knowledge syntheses and considers discussion points about integrating research‐based knowledge in documents informing ocean governance. Keywords: knowledge mobilization; ocean governance; ocean research; scholarly communication; science‐policy interface; scientific knowledge; UN Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8924 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Stone Aggregations or Reefs? Knowledge Politics Around a Transboundary Seabed Complex File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8893 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8893 Author-Name: Irit Ittner Author-Workplace-Name: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany Author-Name: Anna‐Katharina Hornidge Author-Workplace-Name: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany / University of Bonn, Germany Abstract: This study analyses marine governance and knowledge politics of sediments in the Borkum Reef Ground from a historical and German perspective, as well as in the context of litigation against marine gas production from transboundary Dutch and German fields. The authors analysed interview transcripts, project documents, environmental media campaigns, and notes originating from participant observation and stakeholder engagement. The study employs the science and technology and sociology of ignorance approaches. It asks which implications for biodiversity protection and ocean governance derive from administrative fragmentation and knowledge politics by a diverse set of actors. National divisions and prioritised knowledge production led to a shift in perception of the area from a transboundary seabed habitat to two distinct national marine areas and resulted in a fragmented Schutzgebietskulisse including marine protected areas, restoration zones, and unprotected zones. The study illustrates how the prioritisation of mapping marine protected areas may backfire on knowledge gain in potential industrial zones and overall marine protection. Keywords: Germany; knowledge politics; marine gas; marine protection; North Sea; ocean governance; the Netherlands Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8893 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: The Shortest Nuclear Route to Climate Change to Great Power Competition: Tracing Arctic Security File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8846 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8846 Author-Name: Gabriella Gricius Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, Colorado State University, USA Abstract: Arctic security has been growing in popularity across academia, policymaking, and news media. However, this popularity has come with a notable question: What does Arctic security mean, and how/what knowledges underpin it? This study traces the discourse on Arctic security from the Cold War to the present examining the emergence of different types of security which range from more traditional variants to wider and deeper readings such as environmental and comprehensive security. I identify key strands of Arctic security discourse, trace their interaction over time, and periodize the region. While the Cold War era was dominated by nuclear and traditional security logic, there have been three main shifts since then including (a) the 1990s–2007, (b) 2007–2019, and (c) 2019–present. This research finds that Arctic security knowledge follows global security trends. Thus, as security has widened and deepened globally, so too have the potential meanings of Arctic security expanded. However, there is a clear hierarchy in today’s general discourse with what issues take center stage for the Arctic such as great power competition and climate change. This is in contrast to the Arctic Council, which takes into account all but military security definitions for Arctic security and integrates them in a relatively balanced way. This has implications for ocean governance institutions and the degree to which traditional military security concerns should be left out of broader ocean governance. Keywords: Arctic; Arctic Council; governance; knowledge production; security Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8846 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Disrupted Sand Flows, Artisanal Fishers, and the Making of Coastal Protection in Southern India File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8933 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8933 Author-Name: Dennis Schüpf Author-Workplace-Name: Environmental Governance, German Institute of Development & Sustainability (IDOS), Germany / Department of Geography, University of Bonn, Germany Author-Name: Lisa E. F. Schipper Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Geography, University of Bonn, Germany Author-Name: Nithya Kuppusami Author-Workplace-Name: Social Science, French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP), India Abstract:

Flowing parallel to the sea, sand is subject to erosive, accretive, and extractive processes and is intertwined with the socio-ecological dynamics at the land–sea interface. Human interventions, climate change, and societal responses to it are constantly reshaping the morphology of coastal areas and thus disrupting sand flows, for example, through the construction of harbours or groins to prevent erosion. In this article, we ask how disrupted sand flows shape the interaction and social dynamics between different coastal actors in the making of coastal protection. Empirically, we ground our research in the Pondicherry region of southern India, characterised by a sandy morphology and numerous fishing communities. Building on the literature on “geosocialities,” we argue that engaging with the materialities of ocean sand and the social implications of sediment loss for artisanal fishers is crucial to reducing maladaptation. Following sand as a non-human actor unravels the social entanglements with ocean sand that underpin the implementation of protective measures and that shape access to sandy beaches for artisanal fishers. By exploring these contestations, we show how the reclamation of sand through groins is embedded in unequal power relations over shrinking beaches. While migration to other sandy beaches becomes a necessary means of adaptation, this leads to local conflicts over coastal space. We conclude by highlighting the need to understand coastal adaptation as a geophysical and socially intertwined process, in which ocean sand must be critically considered for future adaptation strategies.

Keywords: artisanal fishers; climate change adaptation; coastal protection; fishing communities; geosocialities; India; maladaptation; sand resources Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8933 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: The Multifaceted Seafarer: An Explorative Discourse Analysis of Seafarers’ Portrayals in Swedish Maritime Magazines File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8289 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8289 Author-Name: Magnus Boström Author-Workplace-Name: Kalmar Maritime Academy, Linnaeus University, Sweden Abstract: Seafaring is a highly male‐dominated occupation. Within the industry, there is an ambition to increase the proportion of women working in maritime professions. In this endeavor, it is relevant to examine how seafarers are portrayed in various contexts. This study aimed to explore the image of seafarers as presented in Swedish maritime magazines: How are seafarers described, and can these descriptions be seen as performative in shaping a professional identity? To meet this aim, a discourse analysis was performed, based on 20 texts from two maritime magazines, representing both rating and officer seafarers. Overall, six subject positions inhabited by seafarers were identified, with several overlapping characteristics. For example, traits of the traditional seafarer were also found in the masculine seafarer and the flexible seafarer. Furthermore, it is argued that several of the subject positions are difficult to combine with what is referred to as the gender‐equal seafarer, mainly due to challenges in balancing family life with extended periods at sea. The study shows that today’s seafarers, according to how they are depicted in Swedish maritime magazines, have considerable agency in shaping their own professional identity without being forced to conform to a hegemonic masculinity. Finally, it is suggested that the term “seafarer” be used instead of “seaman” in both print and everyday conversations, for increased inclusiveness and representation. Keywords: equality; gender; hegemonic masculinity; performativity; seafarer; seaman Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8289 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Transnational Intersectionality at Sea: Gender, Appearance, Ethnicity, Age, and Marine Knowledge Production File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8737 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8737 Author-Name: Ramona Hägele Author-Workplace-Name: European Ethnology, Julius‐Maximilians‐Universität Würzburg, Germany / Institute for Political Sciences and Sociology, University of Bonn, Germany / German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany Author-Name: Anna-Katharina Hornidge Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Political Sciences and Sociology, University of Bonn, Germany / German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany Abstract: Knowledge production is inherently social, as humans interpret their environment. Scientific knowledge production differs from non‐scientific production in its systematic data collection for validation, yet both involve a social element shaping our understanding of the world. This article investigates social contestation processes as part of knowledge production processes on a German research vessel and in German and Brazilian marine science institutes, with a particular focus on the social identity markers of gender, ethnicity, and age and how they affect team‐based sense‐making processes. Methodologically, our research draws on participant observation of marine scientists and associated non‐scientists in their daily working routines as well as semi‐structured interviews. This took place on a research vessel in 2021 and in marine science institutes from 2022 to 2024. Conceptually, the research follows approaches of the sociology of knowledge and intersectional approaches that integrate transnational experiences across national borders and other (physical) boundaries. Based on this empirical research, we assess transnational intersectional sense‐making practices at sea. Our findings show that (sexual) harassment in marine knowledge production processes occurs independent of localities, intersectional discrimination at sea leads either to emancipation processes or to withdrawal, and tensions arise in particular between scientists and non‐scientists, which broadens the gap between these social groups and knowledge systems. We conclude by providing recommendations for a more diverse workforce at sea and in marine sciences so that the conduct of research and work at sea can be more inclusive, equal, and safe. Keywords: blue economy; gender equality; intersectionality; knowledge sociology; marine science Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8737 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue Economies File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8761 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8761 Author-Name: Josefin Ekstedt Author-Workplace-Name: Centre for Blue Governance, Aalborg University, Denmark Author-Name: Kristina Svels Author-Workplace-Name: Natural Resources Institute, Finland Author-Name: Magnus Boström Author-Workplace-Name: Linnaeus University Author-Name: Madeleine Gustavsson Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Rural and Regional Research, Norway Author-Name: Kristen Ounanian Author-Workplace-Name: Centre for Blue Governance, Aalborg University, Denmark Author-Name: Katrina Rønningen Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Rural and Regional Research, Norway Author-Name: Milena Arias Schreiber Author-Workplace-Name: School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Author-Name: Sunniva Midthaug Solnør Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Rural and Regional Research, Norway Author-Name: Cecilia Österman Author-Workplace-Name: Kalmar Maritime Academy, Linnaeus University, Sweden Abstract: The Nordic countries are ranked among the most gender equal countries worldwide. Equality, political, and civil rights, leading to the high participation of women in the workforce, have paved the way for this egalitarian view. However, women remain the minority in managerial positions in general, and they are also strongly underrepresented in many male‐dominated sectors of the blue economy. The aim of this article is to introduce and discuss gender equality in the blue economy, and to assess the status of gender research in the Nordic context. To achieve this, a purposive interdisciplinary literature review resulted in three encompassing themes on how women’s participation is hindered, overlooked, and undervalued. Using these themes as an analytical lens, we propose that the underlying mechanisms are similar within fisheries, aquaculture, and maritime transportation in how they affect women’s participation. Still, there is a lack of statistics and research within parts of the blue sector. To move forward, there needs to be a shift in focus from policy to practice. One starting point could be to implement current knowledge, e.g., regarding workplace design and tailoring equipment to fit a diverse workforce. We call for scaling up best practices and evaluating policy performance and effectiveness. These are prerequisites for sustainable recruitment and retention of the blue sector workforce and the only way forward for countries aspiring to be truly gender equal. Keywords: blue economy; fisheries; gender equality; labor market; male‐dominated; SDG 5; seafarer; social sustainability; women’s participation; workforce Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8761 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Incentives for Skills Supply in a Socially Sustainable Shipping File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8837 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8837 Author-Name: Cecilia Österman Author-Workplace-Name: Kalmar Maritime Academy, Linnaeus University, Sweden Author-Name: Magnus Boström Author-Workplace-Name: Kalmar Maritime Academy, Linnaeus University, Sweden Abstract: While global demand for shipping continues to grow, the maritime industry is concerned by the impending shortage of skilled seafarers. The challenge is twofold: there is a need to attract and recruit new talent, and to retain, upskill, and reskill existing personnel. This study aims to investigate what motivates students to enrol in and complete a maritime education, and to stay in the profession. A register‐based follow‐up study, a survey questionnaire, and interviews were conducted with former and current students at a maritime upper secondary school in Sweden. Results show that motives include an interest in shipping or boating, or seeking a practical occupation. It has not been possible to identify any major differences between women’s and men’s motives. However, women complete their educations to a greater extent than men. Pivotal for seafarers’ decision to stay in a seafaring profession is having reasonable working and employment conditions, varied work tasks, and a sense of professional pride. Experiences of good companionship and togetherness are important driving forces. Conversely, social exclusion, harassment, and poor working environments influence the decision to leave the maritime industry. Even though women are at increased risk of being exposed to unwelcome behaviour, they choose to stay at sea to a greater extent than their male colleagues. A sustainable skills supply requires a holistic perspective. Satisfied employees who are allowed to grow in their professional role are likely to act as excellent ambassadors and thereby contribute to the continued recruitment of seafarers. Keywords: gender equality; job satisfaction; maritime education; occupational commitment; seafarers; social sustainability; upskilling; work environment Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8837 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Navigating Coastal Dynamics: Illegal Institutional Arrangements, Gangs’ Activities, and Knowledge Mobility in the Gulf of Guayaquil File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8851 File-Format: text/html DOI: Journal: Ocean and Society Volume: 2 Year: 2025 Number: 8851 Author-Name: Wendy Chávez‐Páez Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany / German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany Author-Name: Anna‐Katharina Hornidge Author-Workplace-Name: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Germany / University of Bonn, Germany Abstract: This study investigates how corruption and criminal gangs affect small‐scale fisheries, driving forced displacement and reshaping fishing knowledge through the process of epistemic mobility. The research focuses on the interactions between the fishing communities of Puerto Bolívar and Puerto Roma within the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador. By tracing the movement of fishers and their knowledge, the study reveals how the imitation and attempted learning of fishing techniques, such as the use of plastic tubes to detect fish, occur between communities. Displaced due to the illegal encroachment of semi‐industrial vessels bolicheros protected by criminal gangs, Puerto Bolívar’s fishers have been forced to migrate northward to fish near Puerto Roma, and then return to Puerto Bolívar. While they are fishing in the northern waters, Puerto Roma’s fishers observe their techniques and attempt to imitate them. Nonetheless, the transfer of this knowledge is imitative and incomplete, as it is observed from a distance rather than fully understood. The study highlights that, while the displacement caused by corruption and illegal activities brings fishers into new contexts, it is the fishers themselves who contribute to the mobility and transformation of knowledge. By focusing on epistemic mobility, this study highlights how knowledge is not always successfully transferred but is adapted, hybridized, or even resisted, offering new insights into the resilience and vulnerability of small‐scale fishers in the context of systemic corruption and ecological conflict. Keywords: conflicts in fisheries; criminal gangs; epistemic mobility; fishing industry; illegal institutional arrangements; knowledge; small‐scale fisheries Handle: RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v2:y:2025:a:8851