What Does Ocean Justice Look Like?

This month, we hear from one of our close collaborators over the years, Annie Tourette, Head of Advocacy at Blue Ventures . A life-long environmentalist and diving enthusiast, Annie has been advocating for human rights for more than 10 years. In her job, she combines her love for marine conservation with her ambition to make the voices of the most vulnerable coastal communities heard.

What Does Ocean Justice Look Like?

What does ocean justice look like? It looks like me, and you. It looks like the hundreds of thousands of people who live by and rely on the sea for food and livelihood. It looks like understanding where your seafood comes from and how it has been caught.

Ocean justice can no longer be considered a distant concept: it is the tangible embodiment of our moral and ethical responsibilities to the marine ecosystems that are vital for our world.

Fundamental?to this idea of ocean justice is the crucial role played?by coastal communities.

Often overlooked, these communities are the lifeblood and stewards of our oceans. In the places?Blue Ventures?work, like Madagascar, coastal communities are not merely passive observers; they are active agents of change, managing and conserving their marine environments through local knowledge and practices passed down over generations.

Herein lies the essence of ocean justice - a world where those?who depend on the sea can thrive?and have the power to sustainably manage?the very environment that sustains them.

An inspiring example of this concept in action is the MIHARI network, a grassroots movement in Madagascar empowering local fishers to sustainably manage their marine resources. By bringing together over 200 locally managed marine areas, MIHARI demonstrates the transformative power of local action to address global challenges, raising local voices to change policies. They stand as a testament to the potential of community-led initiatives, showing us that the greatest custodians of our oceans are those who live and breathe it daily.

The health of our oceans is inextricably linked to the well-being of fishing communities. But the inequities and imbalances within global fisheries dynamics often allow large-scale fishing industries to exploit weaker regulatory frameworks and bargaining power of low-income countries. It can result in the depletion of fish stocks, exacerbating food insecurity, and further marginalising vulnerable communities that depend on fishing as a primary source of income and nutrition.

Addressing these systemic injustices?requires improved fisheries transparency; and, the empowerment of small-scale fishers to tackle the?industrial practices that put our oceans at risk.

Bottom trawling - a method of industrial fishing that involves dragging heavy nets along the seafloor - is one such menace; as it destroys seafloor habitats, threatens species with extinction, and disrupts the balance of our marine ecosystems. Its high level of bycatch - unintended species caught in the process - makes it an incredibly wasteful and destructive fishing method.

This is where the Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition steps in. A collaborative global alliance of over 60 organisations, networks and fishers, this coalition strives to limit destructive bottom trawling practices. It also advocates for a 'just transition', a critical component of ocean justice that has often been missing from the narrative.

It's not about simply banning industrial destructive practices outright; It is about creating a transition that supports those communities dependent on such practices, ensuring nobody is left behind. Therein lies the confluence of ocean justice with human rights.

As we work towards more sustainable fishing practices, it is vital to champion the rights of these communities - their rights to a stable livelihood, to be an active part of decision-making, to access resources equitably, and to live in a healthy, safe environment for generations to come.

Achieving this requires us to bridge divides and foster cooperation at all levels. It demands us to look beyond short-term economic gains and consider the long-term health of our oceans.

So, what does ocean justice look like?

It looks like a world where the oceans are no longer seen as an inexhaustible resource, but a?delicate ecosystem?that we need to protect.

Impact Spotlight

Sign the petition?to pressure the European governments to end the bulldozing of our ocean floor, which is undermining small-scale fisheries, and deepening the climate crisis.

Watch L'Arte dell'attivismo for free on WaterBear?