The Shoreline between Nature and Society, a Changing Heritage - Vulnerability of Coastal Ecosystems and Adaptation - page 191

5.3.2. From resource use to competing human activities
The reasons behind conflicts in resource use are varied but they are
intensified by the nature of the coast itself, as a coveted narrow and
fragile strip. After all, everything crystallizes from one end to the
other of the shoreline, on the shore facing the ocean but also in the sea
itself. This consideration forms the baseline of the concept of
coastal zone. On the shore, what tourists seek is the proximity to the
sea, which is used as a slogan to sell apartments in Merlin, in
Vendée, “sea view and feet in the water”. In the sea, and along the
coastal zone, the activities range from strictly professional (fishing) to
various leisure activities, such as windsurfing with the
more modern varieties of surfing, surf casting and other forms of
leisure fishing, and of course water skiing, which forms a
demanding and powerful industry. Tapping into these
activities reveals many conflicts, and it becomes clear that these are
more or less difficult to solve (or at least to manage) with a bit of good
will and interest in reaching a consensus. These are human issues, first
in the heat of the conflict, but they also regard collectives,
municipalities and the State in the case of France, or local
“communities” and federal States including coastal States in the
United States of America.
5.3.3. The modernization of fishing and its effects on the oceans
Although fishing is a traditional activity along the coasts and at the
land-sea interface due to the potential richness of coastal waters, it is
also an activity that has encouraged globalization, with fleets tracking
shoals of fish across seas all around the world. This industry,
therefore, encourages the activities on the seas both intensively and
seasonally. Finally, it is often a controversial activity due to the abuses
it can embody. So, fishing activities today are inseparable from the
protective measures and policies that accompany them to ensure their
sustainability. Fishermen are first of all predators; it is, therefore, not
surprising that they sometimes spark criticisms from people who do
not know much about this difficult profession, in which fish tracking