"There are no ordinary citizens to witness the workings of an industry that is one of the most fundamental to their daily existence…they have fueled if not created globalization…but who looks beyond a television now and sees the ship that carried it? Who cares about the men (sic) who brought your breakfast cereal through the winter storms? How ironic that the more ships have grown in size and consequence, the more their place in our imagination has shrunk." (George 2013: p2)

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lthough often described as the last remaining wild part of our planet, our global ocean, coasts and seas are increasingly recognised as ‘peopled spaces’ (Bennett, 2019). The relationships between these spaces and the people inhabiting them are complex, diverse, and multi-layered, influenced by an ever-growing list of factors, including but not limited to personal characteristics, access to and experience of the ocean, employment, and education (Jefferson et al., 2015; 2021). Extending back through generations, the global ocean and seas have acted as a connector of trade and transport, a generator of culture and heritage, and a space for pleasure and recreation. Yet, as captured by in the quote by Rose George in her book, Deep Sea and Foreign Going (2013), there is an apparent lack of awareness – of knowledge - held by most about the port and maritime trade sectors, signalling a disconnect between society and the ocean. In spite of the seeming increase in ocean coverage and content in popular media (e.g. Blue Planet 2, Seaspiracy), there is a feeling, therefore, that many of us have turned our back on the sea, and that we are becoming increasingly ‘sea blind’. 

This disconnect has not gone unnoticed and has been acknowledged both as one of the key challenges, but also the potential solutions to the various issues currently being faced by the global ocean, coasts and seas. In response to this acknowledgement, an emerging community of ocean researchers are focusing on the human dimensions of blue spaces, drawing on the broad spectrum of marine social science research, including scholars from the arts and humanities (McKinley et al., 2020). While this relatively nascent field of work is not without its challenges (for example, a lack of interdisciplinary funding to support social research, and a historical lack of understanding of the role and value of social research within ocean science), the increasing volume of work on topics relating to the human relationship with ocean and coastal spaces is encouraging (see Jefferson et al., 2021 for a review of ocean perceptions work as an example of this growth). Marine social sciences (and other areas of social research) provide a range of lenses through which the relationships between people and their oceans, coasts and seas can be better explored and understood, and crucially, recognise the heterogeneity and diversity of communities. This allows questions to be raised about whose voices are heard within ocean discourse. How are ocean, or coastal, communities being defined and are these definitions appropriate for contemporary relationships with blue spaces? 

Mirroring the trends seen within the ocean research community, against the backdrop of globally recognised climate and ecological emergencies, January 2021 saw the launch of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) with its call for improved interdisciplinarity for the ocean. This decadal action clearly sets out its aspirations, moving away from historical definitions of ocean science, which centred natural and physical sciences, to one which recognises the breadth of ocean science and research, including social sciences, arts and humanities, and crucially, diverse knowledges and values, including meaningful participation and engagement with local and Indigenous communities central to ocean science and governance (Belhabib, 2021). In the remaining eight and a half years, the UN Ocean Decade also seeks to transform the relationship between society and the ocean and has positioned the concept of ocean literacy as a mechanism to deliver this change. But what does ocean literacy mean in the context of the UN Ocean Decade? 

What is Ocean Literacy?

Originally developed in the USA in the early 2000s in response to a recognised lack of ocean education within the school systems, the concept of ocean literacy has gained significant traction in recent years. Most commonly defined as ‘an understanding of your influence on the ocean, and it’s influence on you’ (Santoro et al., 2017), ocean literacy is underpinned by seven key principles (Table 1), which were co-developed by a community of ocean scientists, educators and policy makers (NMEA, 2021).  Initially firmly positioned within marine education, ocean literacy therefore began as a knowledge-deficit type concept (see Kollmuss and Agyeman, 2002, for more on this) – i.e. if students had more ocean knowledge, they would make ‘better’ ocean decisions. The seven principles presented in Table 1 provided a guide for what students should know on completion of their secondary education (NMEA, 2021).  The assumption was that by providing ocean information, and improving people’s ocean knowledge, behaviour would likewise be influenced. Since its inception almost 20 years ago, several ocean literacy initiatives have developed, including, for example, the International Ocean Literacy Survey which collects data on the ocean literacy, or ocean knowledge, of 15–17-year-olds around the world (Fauville et al., 2019). 

Despite the rapid increase in interest in ocean literacy as a proposed mechanism of change for the ocean, some feel that the very words ‘ocean literacy’ may prove to be a barrier, with the phrase itself reminiscent of traditional definitions of literacy (i.e. reading and writing) and potentially difficult to translate from its English language origins into languages from across the world.  Recent work by the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition has explored this, asking participants in their work to develop an ocean literacy strategy for Canada to describe what they think of as ocean literacy. As shown in Image 2, contemporary ocean literacy can mean different things to different people and goes beyond the original 7 principles, and even beyond ocean literacy’s original knowledge-based foundations, with phrases such as ‘ocean guardians’, ‘ocean relationships’ and ‘connections to the ocean’ expressed. This highlights not only the evolution of ocean literacy and the recognition of it as being about relationships with the ocean, rather than merely about ocean knowledge, but also raises questions about how this diversity of meaning, and connection, can be effectively recognised and integrated into ocean literacy initiatives and discourse(s) for the UN Ocean Decade and beyond.  

Ocean Literacy: An Evolution

Since the concept of ocean literacy was originally coined in the early 2000s, a number of other concepts/terms have sought to explore the complexities of people’s relationships and connections with their ocean and coasts at various geographic scales. These include, for example, ocean and marine citizenship (Buchan, 2021; McKinley and Fletcher, 2012; Potts and Fletcher, 2007), ocean stewardship (Griffis and Komball, 1996) and ocean perceptions research (Potts et al., 2016; Jefferson et al., 2015; Gelcich, et al., 2014). More recently, ocean connectedness (Martin et al., 2020) has built on early ideologies of environmental citizenship and pro-environmental behaviour change. While these alternative concepts offer a range of different lenses to explore human-ocean relationships, they have not garnered the same political backing that ocean literacy has begun to receive. As ocean literacy continues to be positioned at the centre of many global ocean conversations, such as the UN Ocean Decade, it is therefore timely to critically evaluate ocean literacy, and to explore whether this concept, as it stands, can be harnessed as a mechanism for policy change to support sustainable ocean governance of the future (and if it is, what the ramifications of that might be). This requires not only thinking about ocean literacy within civil society, but also considering whether the policies, processes and institutions which underpin ocean governance are ‘ocean literate’. 

This work is already underway. In recent years, there has been an evolution of the concept of ocean literacy, moving away from its knowledge and education origins to one which recognises the importance of both knowledge and education as key ocean literacy dimensions, while highlighting and the importance of including other aspects. In a Special Issue of Frontiers of Marine Science dedicated to global ocean literacy research and scholarship, Brennan et al. (2019) describe one of most comprehensive models of ocean literacy, proposing six dimensions which include: knowledge, awareness, attitudes, activism, communication, and behaviour. In the same issue, Stoll-Kleeman (2019) seeks to map the routes between ocean literacy and public behaviour change. Both studies, alongside others within this forum, illustrate the desire to better understand how the potential of ocean literacy could be harnessed to deliver behaviour change. Additional dimensions have been proposed by McKinley and Burdon (2020) – these include aspects of emotional connection, adaptive capacity (key in these times of climate emergency), trust, and access or experience of ocean and coastal spaces. Further to this growing research base, the work being carried out by groups such as the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition (COLC 2022) and broader ocean literacy discourse is increasingly calling for the community (including researchers, stakeholders and policy makers) to think beyond Western and predominantly academic interpretations of ocean knowledge and values, and for global ocean literacy initiatives to include recognition of diverse values and ‘ways of knowing’ the ocean, coasts and seas.

Connecting People, Ocean and Place: Ocean Literacy for the Ocean Decade

While not a new concept, here ocean literacy appears to have captured the imagination of decision makers across the world, not least through such explicit inclusion in the UN Ocean Decade’s blueprint for the future. There are, however, questions as to how transferable and applicable the existing model and definitions of ocean literacy are across an ever-broadening set of social, economic, cultural, geographical and environmental contexts. With this in mind, where does the future of ocean literacy lie? 

If we take ocean literacy as meaning the multiple and varied connections between people and their ocean (and coasts) in its broadest possible sense, then there is clearly more work to be done.  This includes thinking about who does that work and whose voices and values are included in these discussions. If applied in an integrated and inclusive manner, ocean literacy could be a pathway for change for multiple ocean issues. For example, if the existing definition of ‘knowledge’ is expanded to mean more than knowledge about ocean processes and environments, to instead also ensure that it includes fostering knowledge about maritime careers, ways of participating in community initiatives and participatory governance processes, ocean literacy might be used to support the global blue economy agenda. Likewise, efforts to enhance ocean literacy could be aligned with initiatives to promote health, through creating access and opportunity for more people to engage with their ‘local ocean’ (be it the ocean ‘proper’, or a river or estuary which acts as a gateway to the ocean’), ocean connections, and therefore, ocean literacy can be fostered. 

The UN Ocean Decade offers an opportunity for the ocean to be positioned at the centre of a growing global conversation, and for the role of the ocean in everyday society to be recognised and championed. All the while, it is important to critically examine who is (or isn’t) part of such ‘global’ conversations, or who resists these ‘dominant’ articulations of ocean futures. Furthermore, the remainder of the decade may be an opportunity to galvanise the momentum gathering around ocean literacy as an opportunity for change, but only if considered from a range of perspectives and recognise that there is no true one size fits all definition for ocean literacy. There is growing work around whether the UN (itself a western post war governance entity) is even the best or right place to progress debates on ocean futures. Some groups (see the forum of Oceans Peoples) have actively refused to be part of UN initiatives now after years of trying and having their rights stripped away by supposed ‘good’ governance (good for business, good for the environment but not good for their way of life). Decolonial work is increasingly making known that the UN may not be the global forum for global answers because of its specifically politically situated history. For ocean literacy to achieve its potential (whatever that may eventually be), acknowledgement of the diverse connections between people, ocean and planet and how they are valued will need to be recognised.  Importantly there is a need to develop effective ways of measuring not only the dimensions of ocean literacy, but also the impact of ocean literacy initiatives, how they are successful, where and for whom. Such measuring must also reflect not only numeric counters of ‘success’ but also diverse markers of effectiveness and success, and what those look like in different social, cultural and geographical contexts. 

As we look to the future of the Ocean Decade and indeed beyond, there is a clear need for better understanding of the relationship between society and the ocean, of how diverse knowledges and values can be used to galvanise change, and, where connection is lacking, how ocean literacy can be harnessed as an approach to increase connection and stewardship for our ocean.

References 

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Bennett NJ (2019) Marine social science for the peopled seas. Coastal Management, 47(2): 244- 252.

Brennan C Ashley M and Molloy O (2019) A System Dynamics Approach to Increasing Ocean Literacy. Frontiers in Marine Science 6:360. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00360

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Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition (2021) Land, Water, Ocean, Us: A Canadian Ocean Literacy Strategy. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 

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Dr. Emma McKinley is a Research Fellow at Cardiff University. Her research focuses on understanding the complex relationships between society and the sea, taking account of diverse perceptions, attitudes and values held by different communities and audiences, and considers how this insight can be used to support effective ocean governance. She is the founder of the Marine Social Science Network, a global, interdisciplinary community of marine social science researchers and practitioners.

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