Paper Short Abstract:

This poster explores the cultural and spiritual value of the ocean, emphasising its role in well-being, healing, and identity. It advocates for integrating these dimensions into marine management, addressing historical divides, socio-economic disparities, and access inequalities.

Paper Abstract:

The sea exerts a powerful influence over coastal communities, shaping their social and cultural landscapes through a variety of intricate and diverse interactions. While these connections highlight the ocean’s cultural value and its essential place in coastal lives, they are neither uniform nor equally distributed across communities. The research presented on this poster advocates for a broader recognition of these relationships within marine management frameworks, pressing for the inclusion of spiritual and well-being dimensions that are presently overlooked. The poster highlights themes of spirituality, cultural expression, interconnectedness with nature, healing, and the sense of access and loss emerge as crucial aspects of these relationships. This poster shows how differing relationships and understandings of the ocean expose historical divides between communities and ongoing socio-economic disparities that affect access to the sea. These narratives underscore the ocean’s role in supporting health and well-being, affirming the need to incorporate such values into marine management policies.