Responsible marine aquaculture can complement well-managed wild capture fisherie s and responsible land-based agriculture to support a long-term strategy to create a safe, secure, sustainable, and more resilient global food system. While there is robust research and data to support the ecological, technological, and regulatory capacities of the United States to expand marine aquaculture in its waters, there is little information on how incorporating marine aquaculture into local seafood production impacts the economic, social, and cultural identities of coastal communities. Marine aquaculture has the potential to support a more stable source of income year-round by providing alternative or supplementary ocean-based livelihoods for coastal community members whose employment status is made insecure by the unpredictable impacts of climate change, urban coastal development, and policy changes on wild fisheries. Throughout the U.S., there are examples of fishermen and coastal communities that have benefited from adding marine aquaculture to their seafood production portfolios. Telling these stories can help inform understanding of how marine aquaculture contributes to the economic and social viability of coastal communities as well as identify gaps in knowledge about these interactions that can guide formal research in this area.
In collaboration with NOAA and Sea Grant, the Aquarium of the Pacific's Seafood for the Future program is curating a collection of stories that highlight the interactions between marine aquaculture and the coastal community. These stories are presented in a Story Map, a format that was chosen because it is accessible to a broad audience and with compelling images and stories that can be shown spatially. Our target audiences are legislators and stakeholders, as well as educators and the general public. We hope to expand this project and work with social scientists to help refine and develop more robust criteria to bridge stories with scientific theory to create a more complete and accurate picture of how marine aquaculture affects people and communities .