This Open Access book on Ocean Governance examines the diversity sustainability challenges facing our oceans today. The book is organized into three sections: knowledge systems, policy foundations and thematic analyses. The knowledge produced in the book was catalyzed by the scientific outcomes from collaborations within the European-funded Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) network “Ocean Governance for Sustainability – Challenges, Options and the Role of Science”, a network embedded in the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Union. This network brings together scientists, policy-makers and civil society representatives from 28 nation states to create and coordinate a research network for multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary research on ocean governance in Europe. Focal thematic areas from the Ocean Governance network are reflected in the book’s content, including: land sea interactions, area-based management, seabed management, nutrition and food security, climate change, acidification and fisheries governance.  

This book is a compilation of new research material including focused case studies, broad policy syntheses and reflective chapters on the history and current status of knowledge production systems in the field’s related to ocean governance. The book provides new material without relying on the summaries of secondary sources, although some chapters draw on such data. The book starts with synthetic review chapters by the editors, outlining past and present knowledge systems, addressing how and why ocean governance for sustainability is where it currently stands with critical reflections on existing narratives, path dependencies and colonialist histories. This is followed by a series of chapters addressing, synthesizing and analyzing different legal and policy frameworks for ocean governance both regionally and internationally. The core of the book’s contributions is in the third section of thematic analyses. Here a diverse compendium of chapters provides a range of focused case studies with detailed contextual information in support of different ocean governance challenges and sustainability pathways around the world. The book concludes with a chapter explicitly targeting students, researchers and policy-makers. The conclusion explicitly summarizes the key take-away messages for each with references to the book’s chapters and recent literature in the field. The conclusion section is part of the knowledge systems section written by the editors.