Assembling ocean life: More-than-human entanglements in the Blue Economy. Issue 1 (March 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bear, Christopher
• Is Part Of: Dialogues in human geography. Volume 7:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 27
• Page End: 31
• Publication Date: 2017-03
• Subjects: More-than-human -- assemblage theory -- Blue Economy -- geographies of the sea -- dynamic ocean management; Human geography -- Periodicals; Human ecology -- Periodicals; Environmental ethics -- Periodicals; 304.205
• DOI: 10.1177/2043820617691635
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2043-8206

Abstract

While welcoming the intervention of Winder and Le Heron (2006) as opening up a space for critical – and practical – engagement with 'Blue Economy' thinking, their employment of assemblage approaches could be extended. Doing so might produce a different conceptualization of the Blue Economy, while concurrently establishing new challenges for blue economic practices. In this commentary, I focus on three key areas: (1) the ontological separation of land and sea and the conceptualization of 'marine space'; (2) the 'liveliness' of oceans; and (3) practical possibilities for Blue Economy policies to draw on and engage with 'wet ontologies'. I argue that future geographical research on the Blue Economy would benefit from moving away from the categorizations of the 'ecological' or 'bio' and towards a fuller engagement with the diversity of actants and forces that contribute to the emergence of new practices, policies and (de)territorializations.