Coastal areas are vital hubs for diverse ecosystems and socio-economic activities, but they face significant threats from climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. These challenges require urgent, cooperative actions and interdisciplinary approaches to develop sustainable solutions. However, interdisciplinarity requires blurring traditional academic disciplinary boundaries, and this can be a challenge. Increasingly, early-career researchers (ECRs) are undertaking interdisciplinary research while facing uncertainty about their career progression. In this research paper, we explore the challenges and opportunities faced by ECRs in the United Kingdom conducting Interdisciplinary Coastal Research (IDCR). We draw on findings from internal workshops, webinar discussions and an online survey, all conducted in 2024. The main barriers to IDCR are systemic in nature and include demanding workload, short-term contracts, ineffective supervisory and limited institutional support. Generally, ECRs felt positive about the benefits of interdisciplinarity to coastal research and their career development, but some ECRs expressed feelings of impostor syndrome. Enhanced flexibility in approaches, improved communication and open-mindedness are among the proposed solutions. This research highlights the mismatch between the ambition and the day-to-day reality of ECRs working in IDCR and provides recommendations for IDCR, which can both enhance the experience of ECRs and secure better outcomes for coastal areas.

Near-shore marine habitats are well-documented as diverse and productive social-ecological systems; their degradation and loss have led to growing interest in marine restoration. However, the literature offers limited consideration of the interactions between these projects and stakeholders and local communities. We present a case study showing how a stakeholder engagement strategy ultimately led to the co-production of a marine restoration project among scientists, stakeholders and local communities. Alongside biological recovery, we present the complex social, logistical and ecological lessons learned through this stakeholder engagement strategy. Principally, these relate to how the success of the project hinged on the point at which the project was co-developed with the input of local communities and strategic stakeholders, rather than in a disconnected, independent manner. This project demonstrates that for marine restoration to truly be successful, projects need to engage and work with local people from the outset, through open and early stakeholder engagement and particularly with the people possibly impacted by its presence. Projects need to be created not just for ecological design but also to be relevant and beneficial to a wide range of people. What we show here is that co-producing a project with communities and stakeholders can be complex but lead to long-term sustainability and support for the project, with strong ecological outcomes. To achieve this requires an open and flexible approach. Finally, this work showcases how the restoration of marine habitats can be achieved within a social-ecological system and lead to benefits for people and the planet.