Abstract
This chapter outlines the making of aquapelagic place in the Bailiwick of Jersey (hereafter Jersey), a British Crown Dependency in the Gulf of Saint-Malo to the northwest of France, with specific reference to the Écréhous and Minquiers reefs (Fig. 3.1). 1 Jersey is not a constituent part of the United Kingdom. It possesses its own autonomous government and exercises judicial independence. However, it maintains strong constitutional ties to the United Kingdom by virtue of its relationship with the British Crown (States of Jersey 2024). The discussion is framed around the concept of “aquapelago”, defined as “an assemblage of the marine and land spaces of a group of islands and their adjacent waters” (Hayward 2012a, 5), and, in particular, as a form of “vibrant matter” (2012a, 12) involving multiple interactions across changing dimensions of existence (Hayward 2012b), In this chapter, we show how aquapelagic place is constructed across horizontal and vertical dimensions, based around not only the political contestation of international borders and sub-national jurisdiction, but also within the layered spheres of traditional fishing rights, environmentalism and tourism. We are particularly intrigued by the concept of livelihood activities playing a pivotal role in the establishment of aquapelagos, expounded by Jun'ichiro Suwa in the following terms:
In an assemblage, there is no absolute centre that dominates the rest rather, everything participates with and/or comprises the other. There is no distinction between parts and the whole, or any centre-periphery dichotomy.