Maritime history, sustainable development and resource management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the intellectual pre‐conditions for meaningful debate about resource management of the sea and its contents. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is historical and theoretical. Findings – The argument contends that because of the social and historical status of the sea and those who earn their living from it, comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the sea and its depths is conspicuously lacking, as is a sympathetic understanding. Historically, this has led, where attempts to manage the sea's resources are concerned, to a misconceived application of terrestrial legal concepts and approaches to an indivisible whole upon which, as a whole, Life itself depends. Practical implications – If the argument is correct, piecemeal local, national and regional attempts to manage marine resources may prove unable to achieve what is intended and may be counter‐productive. Such smaller‐scale regulation must depend on prior global agreement on marine resource management principles. Originality/value – The paper attempts to lay out the broad framework within which alone constructive discussion of marine resource management is possible.