Indigenous marine resource management, decolonisation and development

Globally, Indigenous communities are working to decolonise to contribute to marine management. Although there is an increasing recognition of their value, linguistic and bio-cultural importance, many Indigenous peoples, their marine environments and their cultures are going extinct. Relevant to the UN Ocean Decade Challenge 10 Restore society's relationship with the ocean, the article reviews 200 Indigenous communities facing environmental injustices from nine major economic development impacts, mining, port development, oil and gas, military impacts, nuclear, aquaculture, sewerage, and migratory fisheries. The evidence shows Indigenous communities defence of marine ecosystems makes for a more just and sustainable starting point for decision making. We acknowledge that while traditional tenure systems in some cases need to modernise for the Anthropocene, there are more benefits if resource management is Indigenous led. We conclude that while Indigenous nations and communities have considerably progressed with legal recognition to ownership over land rights, the benefits of management, use and right of their marine areas still needs greater decolonisation.