Seeing together the ocean: challenges and contradictions of the ocean decade

Context: The Decade of the Ocean to 2030 was declared by the United Nations through the 2030 Agenda for the Ocean and the Blue Economy. However, the growing economic exploitation of the ocean is negatively impacting coastal populations, recontextualizing the continuity of ancestral ways of life and practices. Objective: Therefore, it is necessary to understand and analyze the contradictions present in this global agenda. To do so, it is essential to adopt a theoretical-methodological framework of plural investigation that encourages the effective and critical participation of all, i.e., an emancipatory and transdisciplinary framework rooted in other cultures, values, and knowledge. Methodology: Through diverse praxes, a dialogical space was constructed in Costa da Caparica in Portugal to advance the perspective of the desired ocean. Thus, a bottom-up and participatory tool focused on the theme "The ocean that the Ocean desires", which involved participants from different fields who deliberated on the current situation and problematized the scenario at hand. Originality: In this way, it was possible to analyze the alignment of global agendas with local demands. Results: The debates revealed different meanings between the desired future for the ocean and the current trajectory, including discussions around the concept of Blue Growth. Furthermore, there was an identification of the need to reimagine society's relationship with the ocean, incorporating fundamental rights, such as the right to time. Social contributions: It is suggested that constructing an oceanic societal trajectory requires new directions aligned with the pursuit of a more just and ecologically wise society.