The relations between society and the sea were the focus of the Maritime Sociology Research Stream at the recent European Sociological Association conference in Warsaw, in which I participated. Four sessions brought together research on different dimensions of Maritime Sociology, much of it connected to the RethinkBlue COST Action, a research network that focuses on the social and ecological dimensions of the blue economy.

One recurring theme concerned during this event was that the maritime environments are neither purely natural nor purely social. Coastal landscapes, ports, fisheries, ships, and other maritime spaces emerge through continuous interactions involving ecosystems, human practices, infrastructure, technologies, and institutions, among others.

This is particularly relevant at a time when climate change is increasingly visible in public policy. Interestingly, one theme emerging from the conference was that while climate change has become increasingly prominent in policymaking, the sea is at times insufficiently visible here. Yet oceans, coastal communities, and maritime economic activities are deeply implicated in climate change.

A second major theme concerned work: Ships, ports, fisheries and the wider Blue Economy are workplaces. Behind discussions about maritime growth, trade and connectivity are seafarers, fishers and many other workers in industries ranging from tourism to energy, whose experiences can range from secure and rewarding employment to precarious and exploitative conditions, to deadly situations such as war.

But workers are not simply passive recipients of economic structures. They negotiate working conditions, construct occupational identities and, at times, resist unacceptable practices.

Gender also matters. Maritime workplaces such as ships can be gendered social spaces, shaped through cultural assumptions, working practices, equipment and expectations about bodies and occupations. This invites wider questions about who participates in different parts of the Blue Economy, which forms of work receive recognition, and whose experiences remain relatively invisible.

Culture and identity represented another important theme in the conference. Small-scale fishers, for example, should not simply be viewed as economic actors or passive representatives of some traditional maritime culture. Similarly, residents, workers, and coastal communities interact with the economic, social, and environmental changes taking place around them. People actively construct meanings around their work, communities and relationship with the sea.

In turn, this leads to questions of power, which again, featured regularly in the conference. Some questions which were discussed included, who decides what the sea is for? Which maritime spaces and resources are considered available for economic exploitation, and which should remain protected? The sea may simultaneously be understood as an economic resource, workplace, ecosystem, cultural landscape, public commons, or something possessing value beyond what can be expressed through the market. Such questions become particularly important when discussing issues such as coastal development, tourism, energy, fisheries and deep-sea mining.

This is where governance becomes crucial. Maritime spaces are influenced simultaneously by governance structures and actors such as international law, European policy, national governments, local communities, businesses, workers, and civil society. At the same time, the interaction between land and sea also reminds us that social and environmental processes rarely respect the administrative boundaries through which governments organise policy.

The transition towards a more sustainable Blue Economy consequently raises questions of justice. For example, reducing CO2 emissions and improving environmental sustainability are necessary objectives, but policies also create winners, losers, opportunities and risks. This is the territory of blue justice, which is gaining traction in Maritime Sociology and other fields of academic research and policymaking: asking not simply whether maritime economies grow or become greener, but who benefits, who pays and how opportunities and risks are distributed.

For Malta as a small island state in the middle of the Mediterranean, the topics and questions discussed in the conference are highly relevant: They relate to our economy, environment, culture, connectivity and everyday life, amongst others. This in turn provides ample opportunities for research. For example, students and researchers can investigate social aspects of coastal communities and port towns, seafarers and other maritime workers, fisheries, coastal tourism, maritime transport, energy, politics, and other areas of the Blue Economy.

Such research can also be interdisciplinary. Maritime sociology can work alongside marine biology, anthropology, geography, economics, international relations and other fields. Initiatives such as the RethinkBlue COST Action provide spaces for precisely this type of collaboration and international networking. One can also register for my Maritime Sociology study-unit offered at the University of Malta.

Let us not underplay how Malta's history and identity have been, and continue to be, interwoven with the sea. Malta also has an important historical connection to international debates about humanity's relationship with the sea. For example, Maltese diplomat Arvid Pardo played a major role in placing the governance of the sea and the concept of the common heritage of humankind on the international agenda, contributing to the process that eventually led to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

(for more details on the papers which were presented in this research stream, please go to https://rethinkblue.eu/news/maritime-sociology-at-the-17th-esa-conference-in-warsaw/ )

Michael Briguglio is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta 

www.michaelbriguglio.com