Abstract

A recent review by Dacks, Yadav, and Mawyer (2025) underscores the transformative potential of integrating human dimensions into marine conservation to promote justice, equity, and sustainability across Oceania’s expansive coastal and nearshore regions. Drawing on a systematic review of 684 studies published between 2016 and 2022, the authors highlight the emergence of a dynamic interdisciplinary field—marine social science—which reconceptualizes coastal environments not solely as ecological systems but as deeply embedded within social, cultural, and political contexts.