Ocean & Coastal Management

Ocean & Coastal Management is the leading international journal dedicated to the study of all aspects of ocean and coastal management and governance.

Ocean & Coastal Management aims to advance management, policy and/or governance scholarship related to the sustainable development and conservation of the world's oceans and coasts. It publishes rigorously peer-reviewed articles on ocean and coastal management and governance from the natural and social sciences, humanities and law, and design professions, and inter-/trans-disciplinary and co-designed research.

Submissions must engage directly with the ocean and coastal management scholarly literature and apply findings to the international context. Submissions involving robust analysis, development of theory, and improvement of governance and management practices are especially welcome. Locality-specific case studies are discouraged unless they have wider application. Comparative studies (from sub-national to trans-national cases, and other management / policy arenas) are encouraged, as are studies that critically assess management theories, policies, practices, and governance approaches.

The journal publishes topics including:

Interactions between ocean and coastal uses and actors in government, the private sector, civil society, local communities, science, and Indigenous Peoples. Bridging the science-policy-practice interfaces in the ocean and coastal context. The roles of traditional knowledge, local knowledge, and science in ocean and coastal management. Ocean Literacy and Education Institutional change and ocean and coastal management.

Resolution of multiple-use conflicts; alternative management regimes and institutional arrangements for integrated management of ocean and coastal areas (e.g., national coastal management programmes, Regional Seas programmes); and governance of resources, systems, and activities from the land-sea interface to territorial waters, Exclusive Economic Zones, high seas, and the poles.

Developments related to the Law of the Sea Convention and to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), including consideration of legal regimes for the conservation and development of ocean and coastal resources from the shoreline to beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, including emerging Legal and Policy Challenges in the High Seas.

International maritime and shipping regulations, policies, and governance under the framework of the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) or the local governments of various countries. Port and shipping operations, management, and governance. Impact of Global Supply Chains on Coastal and Marine Environments.

Assessing and managing environmental impacts due to the development of ocean and coastal areas. Specific shoreline management issues such as coastal protection policies, responses to accelerated sea-level rise, public access, waterfront redevelopment, cultural heritage, public education and participation, port management, estuarine management, marine protected areas, and governing coastal urbanization.

Governance and management of activities like aquaculture, commercial fisheries, offshore mining, shipping and navigation, energy facilities, coast-dependent industries, and tourism, recreational development, and marine conservation and protected areas.

Climate change and ocean and coastal management, including adaptation in coastal and marine settings; tackling ocean acidification; Blue Carbon; and climate-resilient development.

Ocean and coastal disasters, risk reduction, and resilience building. Vulnerability, sustainable livelihoods, and maritime communities.

The Blue Economy and marine governance. Marine spatial planning. Marine ecosystem-based management. Addressing marine plastics and pollution. Technological Innovations in Oceanography and Coastal Management.

Politics, democracy, civic engagement, and public decision-making for the ocean and coasts. Historical, cultural, ethical, philosophical, and theoretical considerations relevant to ocean and coastal management. Maritime Security and Surveillance, including piracy, illegal fishing, and maritime boundary disputes.