Marine aquaculture plays an important role in producing domestic seafood. The largest sector of the U.S. marine aquaculture industry is molluscan shellfish (e.g. oysters, clams and mussels) which accounts for more than 50% of total production. A large number of shellfish operations are concentrated within the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts where significant growth potential exists and in which stakeholder-based efforts are being implemented to support and expand this important U.S. food production sector. One of the most significant challenges facing future growth of the shellfish aquaculture industry in this region is siting new or expanding existing aquaculture operations in the face of negative public perceptions and mounting concerns highlighted by the media about potential environmental impacts and human use conflicts. Although in some cases these perceptions may be grounded in personal experience or accurate information, in other cases they may be motivated by a misunderstanding of the science or a past inability of aquaculture stakeholders to speak to the concerns that are most relevant to the public. This project will examine public values and support for prospective shellfish aquaculture expansion programs that could be enacted region- or state-wide, as determined by the explicit outcomes (e.g., facility siting, local seafood production, economic impacts, environmental impacts) resulting from alternative development strategies. The analysis will also consider the systematic effect of different types of information on this support, and how values and perceptions differ across resident groups. The purpose is to characterize how state and regional efforts to promote shellfish aquaculture can be designed and communicated in ways that best match residents\u2019 preferences\u2014and hence optimize public support and value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Marine aquaculture plays an important role in producing domestic seafood. The largest sector of the U.S. marine aquaculture industry is molluscan shellfish (e.g. oysters, clams and mussels) which accounts for more than 50% of total production. A large number of shellfish operations are concentrated within the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts where significant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[20],"principal-investigator":[384,385],"funding-agency":[429,428],"class_list":["post-1807","research-projects","type-research-projects","status-publish","hentry","tag-current","principal-investigator-dana-marie-bauer","principal-investigator-robert-j-johnston","funding-agency-national-sea-grant","funding-agency-noaa"],"yoast_head":"\n