Wild shellfish harvest and cultivation are centuries-old occupations in southern New England. Hundreds of small businesses grow oysters and clams on farms that range in size from a few to hundreds of acres . These farms occur on private underwater leases located within the public trust, meaning that shellfish farmers typically only have the rights to the bottom, the gear and the shellfish they are cultivating. State shellfish initiatives intended to grow aquaculture have been established, and in fact, over the past decade there has been a rapid expansion of submerged and floating gear along the southern New England coast. Many of the new farms are situated near shore and in close proximity to high value properties. A quaculture has become increasingly visible along our coasts, and that has resulted in increased public attention, concern and scrutiny.
Previous outreach efforts focused primarily on assisting prospective producers with site and species selection and business management, and public outreach was aimed at highlighting the benefits of shellfish aquaculture, recreational shellfish harvest and local seafood consumption. With rising interest in aquaculture development, there has been increased effort to better understand perspectives of coastal community residents and leaders. This project explores pu blic concerns and tradeoffs for shellfish aquaculture and the r ole the media plays in aquaculture messaging, and aims to use the results of that social science research to engage these audiences with new information, tools and outreach programming.