Coastal people dispute offshore oil exploration: toward a study of embedded seascapes, submersible knowledge, sacrifice, and marine justice

To advance marine and coastal sociologies, this paper presents how Aotearoa New Zealand, an island nation without a history, culture, or reputation of deepwater oil production, responded to offshore exploration. Using a case study approach and qualitative data collection methods, this study finds that the culture and knowledge of coastal communities challenge the political economy of oil extraction. To the literature on coastal cultures, this study identifies how some coastal communities reside in embedded seascapes with the marine environment. For them, the sea informs, gives meaning, and orientates their identity, sense of place, and politics. To the literature on marine literacy, this study contributes how some communities may possess submersible knowledge of the marine environment without ever having walked its seafloor. This knowledge is developed and fortified through traditional stories, practical experience, lay ecological study, and scientific research. To the political economy of the ocean, this study suggests that maritime zones are designated for sacrifice and privilege, or a hybrid of the two. From these findings, this paper outlines a framework for marine justice as a paradigm and potential movement, even though its achievement may not be realized.