It was a real privilege to be in the room as this global and transdisciplinary group asked itself critical questions about what Blue Justice should achieve, how it should be defined, and how it can challenge neoliberal policy agendas like Blue Growth. It was also interesting to consider how communities in both the Global North and South can frame Blue Justice, including the rural coastal communities in Newfoundland I study which are so often labelled as declining and undeserving of support. I felt energized to go to the Northern Peninsula, where my research is taking place, and ask residents how they feel their communities have experienced injustice and what a concept like Blue Justice could mean for them.
A few weeks ago, I attended MARE’s conference titled “People and the Sea: Learning from the past, imagining the future”. This conference was of interest to me for two reasons, one research-related and one more personal. Firstly, it was my second chance to attend a conference with a strong presence of TBTI, after having attended the TBTI 3rd World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress in Chiang Mai, Thailand in October 2018. 3WSFC was an amazing experience for so many reasons. It was the first time I had seen a truly global gathering of researchers and practitioners converging on one location. It was also located in the beautiful and ancient city of Chiang Mai, with a big muddy river flowing next to the conference location where inland fisheries thrived. It was here that I had the privilege to share about my research on rural sustainability assessment in coastal Newfoundland communities – which can often seem like a rather parochial topic – with a global audience, highlighting the importance of ensuring international relevance in the research we do. As the Congress ended and announcements were made there about the upcoming MARE conference in Amsterdam, I naturally wanted to stay involved with such a global and diverse group.
Jump ahead to June 24th, 2019, the beginning of the MARE conference. The opening ceremony set the stage for the discussions to come, including an electrifying performance by local musicians who sang about “Blue Life Blood”. Dr. Svein Jentoft also highlighted the importance of including fishing communities in the study and management of fisheries, particularly through his recently released e-book “Life Above Water”. This keynote made a commentary on SDG 14 and its over-emphasis on natural science elements of fisheries. This theme ran throughout the conference, which featured a wide range of social science research on fisheries and other coastal issues.
The discussions that I found most compelling were the sessions organized by TBTI about the emergent concept of Blue Justice and a panel on implementation science. The Blue Justice sessions, which spanned two days of the conference, felt like a mini-delegation from the Chiang Mai conference due to the passion for social justice and the globally-minded ethos in the room. One of the strongest Blue Justice champions in this discussion was Moeniba Isaacs, who introduced this concept in Thailand. It was a real privilege to be in the room as this global and transdisciplinary group asked itself critical questions about what blue justice should achieve, how it should be defined, and how it can challenge neoliberal policy agendas like Blue Growth. It was also interesting to consider how communities in both the Global North and South can frame Blue Justice, including the rural coastal communities in Newfoundland I study which are so often labelled as declining and undeserving of support. I felt energized to go to the Northern Peninsula, where my research is taking place, and ask residents how they feel their communities have experienced injustice and what a concept like Blue Justice could mean for them.
The other session which I found particularly engaging was a panel organized around implementation science, a topic that my research deals with regarding how communities can use indicators of sustainability to help implement sustainable rural development. This session included a range of presentations, from a basic introduction to implementation science rooted in political science theory to the implementation landscape of the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines. After having presented a paper earlier that day on asset mapping tools in rural Newfoundland and why (or why not) they were able to aid in implementing sustainable development, this discussion was an excellent way to frame implementation challenges for such instruments.
The second thing that drew me to MARE was Amsterdam itself. Since I am originally from coastal Louisiana, I had heard about the Netherlands for a long time due to its water management systems. Having lived through Hurricane Katrina, I heard about proposals for New Orleans and its very badly managed storm water system to be redesigned more like Dutch cities, which have learned to co-exist with water for centuries. For that reason, I was delighted to begin the MARE conference by getting on a canal boat and going to the main conference venue through the city’s seemingly endless network of canals. It was also fascinating to see how people in that city construct their lives on the water and near it, from tour boat owners ferrying tourists (and conference attendees), to local youth swimming in the canal on a warm afternoon. Even the conference’s opening reception was held in a massive indoor bridge that spanned across one of these canals between two buildings of the University of Amsterdam. Amsterdam was, in this respect, a perfect setting for the conference and its emphasis on the importance of not only life below water, but also life on the water and near the water. As images of my own city once again flooded by storm waters inundate the media, I realize how fortunate I was to spend time in a city that has found such a fascinating balance with water while immersing myself in discussions about people and the sea.
In conclusion, I am honoured to be part of the MARE conference and hope to be able to participate again in the future. I am very grateful to TBTI for its generous support which allowed me to attend, as well as to the Rural Policy Learning Commons which also supported my travel. I look forward to staying engaged in the important discussions which were continued during this conference and remaining involved with this dynamic global network of people dedicated to fishing communities and their sustainability.
Written by: Brennan Lowery, TBTI Ph.D. student
Brennan’s transdisciplinary study titled ‘Sustainability indicators in rural Newfoundland and Labrador: Telling an alternative story about the assets and potential of rural regions‘ intends to investigate the role of participatory monitoring processes in catalyzing collaborative governance for sustainable development in rural and natural resource dependent communities and regions. A community-based research project, the study is being done in partnership with the Regional Council of the Clarenville-Bonavista Rural Secretariat Region of Newfoundland.
Brennan is part of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and is supervised by Dr. Kelly Vodden, Dr. Ratana Chuenpagdee, and Dr. Doug May. His research is funded by ACOA and TBTI.
