As expansionary growth becomes less and less feasible across finite and stressed ocean ecologies, we will likely see more and more rhetoric aimed at conceptualizing marine spaces as “new frontiers” for forms of development that appear exceptionally modern and less materially intensive. These include sectors often imagined as “non-real” or “non-material,” which typically involve financial schemes and real estate speculation. These approaches will offer ‘win-win’ framing, where economic accumulation can occur without harming—even benefiting—complex ecosystems.