This book showcases how blue foods are deeply intertwined with intangible cultural heritage. It intends to highlight the ways in which food traditions reflect history, spirituality, and sustainability, offering insights into the delicate balance between tradition and modernity. Yet, as globalization, climate change, and industrialization alter access to marine resources, these traditions face unprecedented threats​.

Food is more than just what we eat (it is memory, ritual, and a marker of identity)​ making it central to religious and social celebrations, reinforcing community ties and collective memory. However, these traditions are increasingly at risk as economic and environmental pressures shift local food systems​. Industrial fishing, commercialised agriculture, and climate change are disrupting coastal ecosystems and the knowledge systems that have sustained them for centuries​, where the food itself carries meaning, with certain spices and preparation methods linked to specific cultural practices​.

This book is part of a larger effort to document and celebrate human relationships with the sea. Through ethnographic research, oral histories, and cultural analysis, Blue Foods seeks to elevate the voices of those who have lived and shaped these traditions. At a time when food systems are rapidly changing, this book calls for a renewed commitment to valuing and preserving the intangible heritage of coastal cuisine. Through a blend of storytelling, academic inquiry, and policy reflection, it highlights how blue foods are more than a source of sustenance – they are cultural lifelines, connecting people to their past, their environment, and each other​.

Jessica Leigh Thornton is at Nelson Mandela University