ALIGNING MARINE AQUACULTURE PERSPECTIVES WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF THE SCIENCE: A PANEL DISCUSSION

Well-managed wild-capture fisheries and environmentally responsible marine aquaculture will play an increasingly important role in our food supply for the health and wellbeing of people and the environment. Marine aquaculture can produce a healthy food source with fewer environmental impacts relative to other animal proteins. It can be produced using less freshwater and land resources and with fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Aquaculture accounts for more than half of the imports and most of it is from Asia and other countries that may not have the strong environmental standards the U.S. has in place to ensure that operations are safe and sustainable. Despite these advantages, the U.S. lags behind the rest of the world in marine aquaculture production and continues to rely heavily on seafood imports—more than 90 percent of its supply. The limited growth of marine aquaculture in the U.S. is due in large part to poor public perception that is fueled by misinformation that is often out of date or provided out of context.

Public perception plays an important role in the future of marine aquaculture development in the U.S. Even with regulatory confidence in the science and tools available to inform decisions, perception-based concerns can influence permitting decisions and hinder aquaculture development. Addressing misperceptions about aquaculture will require collaboration among diverse stakeholder groups and access to the most up-to-date scientific information. This interactive panel will feature experts from industry, government, nongovernment, and academic sectors who will provide their perspectives on real and perceived perceptions about marine aquaculture and the science-based tools and resources available to address them. They will also discuss the broader context in which marine aquaculture needs to be presented in order to reframe the current narrative about the topic in order to align public perceptions with the current state of the science.

Panelists:

Sebastian Belle: Executive Director, Maine Aquaculture Association; Michael B. Rust:

Science Advisor, NOAA Office of Aquaculture; Halley Froehlich: Postdoctoral Researcher, National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara; Robert Jones: Global Aquaculture Lead, The Nature Conservancy; Wojciech Wawrzynski:

Head of Science Support, International Council for Exploration of the Sea; Kim Thompson (Moderator): Program Manager, Seafood for the Future, Aquarium of the Pacific