More than a billion people have their own reasons to be concerned about the sustainability of the world’s coastal areas. Many of these people presently live in what we define as coastal zones and are directly or indirectly dependent on the integrity of coastal ecosystems, infrastructure and the wider environment. The extent of the world’s coastal zones coupled with the number of people affecting or affected by them makes the challenge of sustainability in coastal zones extremely daunting and far-reaching. We are increasingly receiving warnings of degradation and environmental instability in these areas, from depleted fish stocks to the accumulation of persistent pollutants. We believe that the way forward is to recognize the diversity of institutions, systems of knowledge and incentives that together constrain and enable decisions on conservation and development. This strategy depends on breaking out of the status quo and, we argue, requires reform in the institutions of management in particular. It requires us to ‘make waves’.