Development and expansion in the marine social sciences: Insights from the global community

Towards vibrant fish populations and sustainable fisheries that benefit all: learning from the last 30 years to inform the next 30 years

“…That is telling and emphasizes how human dimensions are increasingly viewed as fundamental to contemporary fisheries research and management. We therefore conclude that the human dimensions will indeed be considered as an integral element of fisheries in the near future, providing insights and benefits for fisheries science more broadly (see McKinley et al 2022). Yet, it also needs to be treated as a unique cross-cutting issue in its own right that needs to be addressed.…”

“…For example, Bennett et al ( 2017 ) outlined a roadmap for mainstreaming human dimensions more broadly in environmental management and conservation sectors. Importantly, recognition of the critical value of Indigenous knowledge in fisheries management and conservation is increasing—particularly in the context of bridging these knowledges to better inform existing science-based decision-making (Crook et al 2016 ; Reid et al 2021 ; McKinley et al 2022 ).…”

“…The challenges facing fisheries thus span several academic disciplines, research topics, and sectors, and finding viable solutions requires integration across diverse disciplines and knowledge systems, and incorporation of perspectives from all interested user groups (i.e., rights holders, stakeholders, practitioners, managers, and decision-makers) (Turgeon et al 2018 ; Chuenpagdee and Jentoft 2019 ; Moewaka Barnes et al 2021 ). As progress has been made toward centering the human dimensions in fisheries research, multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary methodologies have also evolved (see McKinley et al 2022 ). Although these approaches all have merit, transdisciplinary frameworks extend beyond multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches to include and collaborate with non-academic actors, and thus require inclusive and cooperative practices that typically involve partnerships and knowledge exchange across science, policy, practitioner, stakeholder, and governance boundaries (Turgeon et al 2018 ; Kelly et al 2019 ; Moewaka Barnes et al 2021 ).…”

Ocean literacy for an Ocean constitution

“…As we think about ocean governance in the UN Ocean Decade and beyond, the questions of ‘whose ocean’ and ‘whose voice and values’ must be asked and answered. The emergent international and interdisciplinary marine social science community provides a wide diversity of expertise and skills, and a suite of tools that can be employed for this very purpose (Bennett 2019; Jefferson et al 2021; McKinley et al 2020; McKinley et al 2022). Moreover, to ensure that the true diversity of values and connections is accounted for and considered, there is perhaps a need for a more transdisciplinary approach to be taken to ocean governance, with research and practitioners recognizing the presence of numerous types of knowledge.…”

The evolution of ocean literacy: A new framework for the United Nations Ocean Decade and beyond

“…Despite growing interest into the relationships between people and the ocean, historically these complex and diverse relationships have been poorly understood. The last two decades have seen something of a 'turn to citizens', with human-ocean (and coast) connections being explored through a range of marine social science lenses (McKinley et al, , 2022Bennett, 2019). This has included, but is not limited to, the blue economy (Germond-Duret and Germond, 2022;Bennett et al, 2019), socio-cultural values of marine and coastal environments (Burdon et al, 2022;McKinley et al, 2019;Gee et al, 2017;Martin et al, 2016), public awareness and perceptions of marine topics (Jefferson et al, 2021;Potts et al, 2016;Gelcich et al, 2014), governance, management and decision-making (e.g., Marine Protected Areas; Ban et al, 2019;Mascia et al, 2010) and participation and engagement (Jarvis et al, 2015;Pomeroy and Douvere, 2008).…”