Marine renewable energy (MRE), though a relative newcomer to the ocean and coastal commons, has
become a significant driver of marine spatial planning in the US, posing particular challenges to
commercial fisheries and fishing communities. State and federal agencies with primary oversight for
MRE development have focused on the identification of places where MRE might proceed unhindered by
other uses, most notably coastal fisheries. These agencies and MRE developers have focused on potential
space-use conflict and standard mitigation measures for loss of access to that space. However,
discussions with fishery participants and other community members, as well as observations of
processes on the US West and East Coasts, reveal a complex, multi-faceted social–ecological system
not easily parsed out among users, nor amenable to classic mitigation formulas. Recent ethnographic
research on potential space-use conflicts and mitigation for MRE demonstrates that marine space use is
dynamic and multi-dimensional, with important linkages among fisheries, communities and other
interests. Although experiences vary within and across regions and fishing communities, this research
illustrates the weak position of fishing communities in marine spatial planning in the context of MRE
development. This paper considers the implications of MRE for US East and West Coast fisheries and
fishing communities situated within the larger context of neoliberalism and commodification of the
ocean commons.