Paper short abstract:

Focusing on ethnographic research developed among surfers and fishermen at Ericeira, this paper expects to challenge the categories established in the land-sea dichotomy. Exploring concepts of resistance and sustainability, it addresses how present processes and future challenges are lived locally.

Paper long abstract:

The concept of sustainability has been widely disseminated and criticized in economic (McCormack, 2017) (Costa & Chilese, 2014), social (Heidkamp & Morrissey, 2019), heritage (Filipe, Vale, & Castaño, 2018) tourism (McCool & Moisey, 2008 (2001)) developmental (Brightman & Lewis, 2017) and ecological (Tsing, 2017) aspects. Its ambiguity allows for diverse uses. In Ericeira, on the west coast of Portugal, we found its use in the added value to the maritime heritage, though the World Surfing Reserve, both in the institutional argumentation used for the promotion of tourism and for environmental preservation actions.

In the comparative approach conducted amongst the local fishing and surfing communities, where the sea historically assumes distinct meanings, we realized that the knowledge of the sea and reading nature are common aspects in their daily lives. Therefore, this paper explores the relationships and negotiations established between them, considering the simultaneous developmentalist and conservationist impetus of the last years in Ericeira. In this ambiguous context, it also addresses the expectations expressed about the future, both of small-scale fisheries and the management board of the World Surfing Reserve, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.

Considering the criticism of the heritagization processes of culture and nature (Tardy, 2018), and theoretically placing surf as Lifestyle and Art (Borne & Ponting, 2017), the concepts of resistance and localism are here observed in the labour context of Ericeira, based on the protest actions carried out both to unblock access to the marine resource and to ensure its sustainable exploitation.