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How underwater mediation has transformed deep-sea spaces into resource-rich frontiers Green energy technologies such as windmills, solar panels, and electric vehicles may soon depend on material found at the seabed. How did a space once imagined to be empty and unfathomable come to be thought of as a treasure trove of resources? Lisa Yin Han traces how contemporary developments in underwater sensing and imaging materially and imaginatively transmogrify the ocean bottom into a resource frontier capable of sustaining a digitally connected global future. Set against the backdrop of climate change, energy transition, and the expansion of industrial offshore extractions, Deepwater Alchemy looks at oceanic media and its representation of the seabed in terms of valuable resources. From high-tech simulations to laboratories and archives that collect and analyze sediments, Han explores the media technologies that survey, visualize, and condition the possibility for industrial resource extraction, introducing the concept of extractive mediation to describe the conflations between resource prospecting and undersea knowledge production. Moving away from anthropocentric frameworks, she argues that we must equalize access to deep ocean mediation and include the submerged perspectives of multispecies communities. From the proliferation of petroleum seismology to environmental-impact research on seabed mining to the development of internet-enabled seafloor observatories, Deepwater Alchemy shows us that deepwater mediation is entangled in existential hopes and fears for our planetary future. As the ocean bottom becomes increasingly accessible to people, Han prompts us to ask not whether we can tame the seafloor, but, rather, why and for whom are we taming it?

In recent years, technical and analytical developments in sclerochronology, based on the analysis of accretionary hard tissues, have improved our ability to assess the life histories of a wide range of marine organisms. This Theme Section on the innovative use of sclerochronology was motivated by the cross-disciplinary session ‘Looking backwards to move ahead—how the wider application of new technologies to interpret scale, otolith, statolith and other biomineralised age-registering structures could improve management of natural resources’ convened at the 2016 ICES Annual Science Conference in Riga, Latvia. The contributions to this Theme Section provide examples of applications to improve the assessment and management of populations and habitats, or showcase the potential for sclerochronology to provide a deeper understanding of the interaction between marine life and its environment, including the effects of changing climate.

Historically, Inuit communities of the Arctic have relied significantly on the living marine resources of their coastal waters for nutrition, underpinning community cohesion and enhancing individual and collective well-being. Inadequate understanding of the conditions of coastal marine stocks and their dynamics, along with failed past fisheries management practices, now threatens secure access to these resources for food and nutrition. We examine the degree of integration of modern Canadian federal food and marine resource management policies, which heretofore have been unable to lessen food insecurity in the Arctic, suggesting that causes rather than symptoms need to be treated. Using evidence from Nunatsiavut, northern Labrador, we assess the limits to marine resource governance affecting access to traditionally important food sources. We explore the potential for both increased subsistence harvests and enhanced access to commercial fisheries in mitigating Inuit food insecurity, arguing for the relevance of expanded marine resource assessments, more focused fisheries management, and integration with policies designed to mitigate food insecurity. Crucially, the absence of methods for tracking changes in locally harvested marine resources threatens not only individual and household nutrition but also the social, economic, and cultural integrity of Inuit communities. We further describe the needs for monitoring and propose the use of indicators that capture the contributions of locally harvested marine resources to increased food security along with a framework that allows for utilizing local knowledge and observations. Relying on emerging lessons from research in Nunatsiavut, we build a foundation for a better understanding of both the political and institutional legacies that contribute to Labrador Inuit food insecurity and discuss how the deeper integration of food and marine resource management policies could help mitigate it.

A complex co-management system exists across Inuit Nunangat, whereby federal, provincial, territorial governments and Inuit organizations manage natural resources cooperatively. Under Inuit land claim agreements, Inuit knowledge, western science, and co-produced knowledge are to be used side by side to support decision-making. However, the mechanisms of effectively integrating these knowledge systems to inform decision-makers remain poorly understood. This limits Inuit self-determination, hinders knowledge production, impedes resource governance improvements, and exacerbates communication barriers leading to tensions in marine resource management. It is also a barrier for scientists to utilize Inuit knowledge that exists in a different capacity, and vice versa. We discuss marine resource management indicators, positioning them as potential “boundary objects” around which different knowledge systems converge. We explore their role for not only monitoring ecosystems, but also for integrating knowledge in co-management. We summarize efforts at developing indicators and explore the extent to which they can take on information from different knowledge systems in support of improved co-management decision-making. Finally, we identify how indicators can be used as a facilitation tool for integrating knowledge systems while also generating new research questions and bringing forward management challenges that would otherwise remain out of the scope of researchers and resource managers. Ilagijauninginnut piliriqatigiigunnarninginnullu pitaqarmat Inuit Nunangat, pijjutigillugu gavamatuqakkut, gavamaillu aviktursimajuni, nunalingnillu gavamagijaujut ammalu Inuit katujjiqatigiingit piliriqatigiittiarpangninginnut nunalirijaraangata. Inuit angirutinga, Inuit qaujimajatuqangi, qallunaalu qaujisartulirijjutigijangit, ammalu piliriqatigiigunnarninginnut qaujimajangitigut aturtauttiariaqarningani piliriqatigiittiarlutik ikajurtigiittiarlutik isumaliuriniaraangata. Taimanninganut, tukisijausimanirijanga saqititaunasuartillugu qaujimajatuqarijaujut isumaliurutauniartillugit tukisiajauttiangimmat. Ajurutigijaujuq Inuit pivaallirutigijunnartanga, piliriarijaungilluni qaujimajaugaluartillugu, ajurutiqartutitut pivaallirutigijunnataraluanginnit, kisianilu ajurutiqainnaujarllutik tusaumaqattautingiluartunut pijjutigijanga ajurutigingmagu imarmiutalirijikkunnu lu pilirijigivaktanginnut. Ajurutigijaugivuq qaujisartiuvaktuni tukisinasuattiariaksaq Inuit qaujimajatuqanginni pitaqattiaraluartillugu asingitigut, ammalu igluanunga tukisinasuarllugu. Uqausirivangmijavut imatmiutalirijaraangata pilirijigijauvaktut, piliriarijjutigijaujunnarniarninginnut “ajurutiujunut piqutiit” tamakkua ajjigiingittuni qaujimajaqartuni tukisiumaqattautilirunnarlutik. Qimirujavut qanuilingagaluarmangaata tamakkuatuinnaungittut nunamiutalimaalu imarmilu ammalu saqitinasuarllugu qaujimajaujut piliriqatingiigiaqarnirmit. Piliriarinasuartavut katirsurllugit saqittijumanirmut piliriqatigiittialirunnarnirmut ammalu qaujivallianirijavut angilirtigiarlugu tukisijauvalliajunut ajjigiingitillugi ikajurutaulirunnarninganut piliriqatigiitialirlutik isumaliurutauqattarniartillugit. Asuilaak, uqarunnalirpugut qaujisarutauniartut aturtaujunnalirput piliriarijjutigilugit qaujimaqattautivallialirnirmut pivallialirtillugit tukisiqattautivalliatilluta qaujisarutiksaniglu nutaanik apiqutiksanik ammalu pilirianguvallianiartillugu ajungijjutigijunnartanginnit katujjiqatingiingniartilluta pitaqarajalaungikkaluartillugi qaujisartinut ammalu nunalirivaktuni pilirijiit.

There is increasing recognition among anthropologists that indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast actively managed their terrestrial and marine resources and ecosystems. Such management practices ensured the ongoing productivity of valued resources and were embedded in a complex web of socio-economic interactions. Using ethnographic and archaeological data, this paper synthesizes the ecological and cultural aspects of marine management systems of coastal First Nations. We divide our discussion into four aspects of traditional management systems: harvesting methods, enhancement strategies, tenure systems, and worldview and social relations. The ethnographic data, including memories of living knowledge holders, tend to provide windows into daily actions and the more intangible aspects of management; the archaeological record provides insights into the more tangible aspects and how management systems developed through time and space. This review demonstrates not only the breadth of Northwest Coast marine management but also the value of integrating different kinds of knowledge and data to more fully document the whole of these ancient management systems.

The outcomes of marine conservation and related management interventions depend to a large extent on people’s compliance with these rule systems. In the South Pacific, community-based marine resource management (CBMRM) has gained wide recognition as a strategy for the sustainable management of marine resources. In current practice, CBMRM initiatives often build upon customary forms of marine governance, integrating scientific advice and management principles in collaboration with external partners. However, diverse socio-economic developments as well as limited legal mandates can challenge these approaches. Compliance with and effective (legally-backed) enforcement of local management strategies constitute a growing challenge for communities - often resulting in considerable impact on the success or failure of CBMRM. Marine management arrangements are highly dynamic over time, and similarly compliance with rule systems tends to change depending on context. Understanding the factors contributing to (non-) compliance in a given setting is key to the design and function of adaptive management approaches. Yet, few empirical studies have looked in depth into the dynamics around local (non-) compliance with local marine tenure rules under the transforming management arrangements. Using two case studies from Solomon Islands and Fiji, we investigate what drives local (non-) compliance with CBMRM and what hinders or supports its effective enforcement. The case studies reveal that non-compliance is mainly driven by: (1) diminishing perceived legitimacy of local rules and rule-makers; (2) increased incentives to break rules due to market access and/ or lack of alternative income; and (3) relatively weak enforcement of local rules (i.e., low perceptions of risk from sanctions for rule-breaking). These drivers do not stand alone but can act together and add up to impair effective management. We further analyze how enforcement of CBMRM is challenged through a range of institutional; socio-cultural and technical/ financial constraints, which are in parts a result of the dynamism and ongoing transformations of management arrangements. Our study underlines the importance of better understanding and contextualizing marine resource management processes under dynamic conditions for an improved understanding of compliance in a particular setting.

This monograph is about income diversification among fishers, pressure on marine resources and the relation between the two. Socio-economic characteristics of artisanal fishers, including income diversification, are examined together with fishing practices, fish landings, fish marketing, and resource conservation.

As marine resource management fields continue to move toward more inclusive and collaborative processes, it is important to also examine the value of promoting the diverse perspectives of scientists and managers from different backgrounds throughout the decision‐making process. An important objective of diversity initiatives is to acknowledge the value of diversity while providing opportunities to increase the representation of diverse communities in professional settings. However, focusing on diversity only at the surface can potentially overshadow benefits existing at a deeper level. This study used a mental model approach to explore the potential value of racial/ethnic and gender diversity in marine and fisheries science professions from a cognitive deep‐level diversity perspective. The study included 112 participants across gender, who self‐identified as one of the following racial/ethnic social identity groups: Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, Multiracial, White, Asian/Asian American or /Pacific Islander, American Indian or/ Alaska Natives. Results revealed differences in how members of underrepresented groups and white men incorporated concepts associated with diversity into their mental models and distinctions in how racial/ethnic and gender social identity groups organized similar concepts within their mental model structures. These findings on diverse perspectives related to marine resources management across social identity groups, highlight the value of understanding diversity beyond just a numerical or surface level and the utility of incorporating deep‐level diversity in the management and decision‐making process.

Marine environments support the livelihoods, economies, and quality of life for communities around the world. But growth of coastal populations and increasing demands on marine resources are putting the future of ocean and coastal resources at risk through impacts such as overfishing, wetland drainage, climate change, and pollution of coastal waters. Given these demands, it is vital to build capacity-the people, the institutions, and technology and tools-needed to manage ocean resources. Unfortunately, many capacity building efforts focus on specific projects rather than on capacity building as goal unto itself, resulting in activities that are not funded or sustained past the typically short project lifetime. This book finds that the most successful capacity-building efforts meet the needs of a specific locale or region based on periodic assessments and include plans to maintain and expand capacity after the project ends. The report recommends ways that governments and organizations can help strengthen marine protection and management capacity, including conducting periodic program assessments, making plans to sustain funding, and developing leadership and political will. The book was produced at the request of Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the President's Circle of the National Academies, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Marisla Foundation, and the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation.

China’s 13th Five-Year Plan, launched in March 2016, provides a sound policy platform for the protection of marine ecosystems and the restoration of capture fisheries within China’s exclusive economic zone. What distinguishes China among many other countries striving for marine fisheries reform is its size—accounting for almost one-fifth of global catch volume—and the unique cultural context of its economic and resource management. In this paper, we trace the history of Chinese government priorities, policies, and outcomes related to marine fisheries since the 1978 Economic Reform, and examine how the current leadership’s agenda for “ecological civilization” could successfully transform marine resource management in the coming years. We show how China, like many other countries, has experienced a decline in the average trophic level of its capture fisheries during the past few decades, and how its policy design, implementation, and enforcement have influenced the status of its wild fish stocks. To reverse the trend in declining fish stocks, the government is introducing a series of new programs for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, with greater traceability and accountability in marine resource management and area controls on coastal development. As impressive as these new plans are on paper, we conclude that serious institutional reforms will be needed to achieve a true paradigm shift in marine fisheries management in China. In particular, we recommend new institutions for science-based fisheries management, secure fishing access, policy consistency across provinces, educational programs for fisheries managers, and increasing public access to scientific data.