Indigenous Resource Management in Marine Ecosystems

Indigenous resource management in marine ecosystems encompasses the diverse practices by which Indigenous communities have guided the use, stewardship and cultivation of coastal resources over millennia. These practices are grounded in holistic worldviews that integrate social, cultural and spiritual values with detailed ecological observations—often referred to as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Techniques such as the construction of clam gardens, selective harvest protocols, seasonal closures and the maintenance of shell middens have shaped intertidal habitats to enhance productivity, biodiversity and resilience. Across the Pacific Northwest, Australasia, the Arctic and tropical regions, Indigenous regimes of tenure and governance have established rights of access, exclusion and collective decision-making that underpin sustainable harvest and habitat stewardship. By embedding resource cultivation within long-term social-ecological systems, these approaches have balanced food security, cultural continuity and ecosystem health. Modern conservation and marine spatial planning increasingly recognise that integrating Indigenous management portfolios can support biodiversity objectives, bolster ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change and advance equity in resource governance on a global scale.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have shown that ancestral and contemporary shellfish cultivation practices bolster habitat complexity and invertebrate diversity at multiple spatial scales. Investigations of decades-old and millennia-old clam gardens along the north-east Pacific coast demonstrate how rock-walled terraces reshape sediment composition, influencing bivalve abundance and epifaunal communities. In parallel, long-term intertidal resource use by coastal communities has been linked to enhanced temperate rainforest productivity, as shell middens enrich soils with calcium and phosphorus, promoting forest growth and resilience. Together, these findings illuminate the profound cross-ecosystem influences of Indigenous stewardship, from marine biodiversity to terrestrial ecosystem services.

Indigenous Resource Management in Marine Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in indigenous resource management in marine ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK): Indigenous understanding of ecosystems derived from long-term observation, practice and cultural values.

Clam garden: Intertidal rock-walled terraces built to enhance shellfish habitat by modifying sediment slope and composition.

Shell midden: Accumulations of discarded shells and organic matter that modify soil chemistry and inform historical resource use.

Tenure system: A place-based framework of rights and responsibilities governing access, use and management of natural resources.

Collective-choice rights: Entitlements that enable communities to participate in decision-making, exclusion and transfer of resource management responsibilities.

References

1. Ancestral and contemporary intertidal mariculture practices support marine biodiversity in the northeast Pacific. Communications Earth & Environment (2024).
2. Accounting for existing tenure and rights over marine and freshwater systems. npj Ocean Sustainability (2024).
3. Intertidal resource use over millennia enhances forest productivity. Nature Communications (2016).
4. Ancient clam gardens, traditional management portfolios, and the resilience of coupled human-ocean systems. Ecology and Society (2016).