Aquaponics has gained notoriety as a resource efficient food production typology in light of the growing promotion and awareness of regenerative approaches to resource management in food systems. Though its touted benefits have been widely discussed, commercial systems and growers remain a minority as the success of the field and the number of commercial aquaponics operations established is lagging in relation to the comparable parent industries of hydroponics and aquaculture. To identify current drivers and barriers to the success of aquaponics as an emergent commercial food production typology and strategy for resource circularity, we apply the Technical Innovation System (TIS) framework, incorporating aspects of broader sustainability transitions theory. The TIS framework focuses on the innovation, development, use, and diffusion of a technology and has become a core component of sustainability transitions research. Utilizing this framework as an interdisciplinary and international team of collaborating researchers in sustainability, aquaponics, aquaculture, engineering, and built environments, in this study we therefore investigate what dynamics are currently driving or preventing the aquaponics industry from realizing its commercial and sustainable potential.
Although such attempts of analyzing aquaponics as an emerging TIS have already been made for Europe and the Netherlands, an analysis in the context of North America and other parts of the world is still lacking. Likewise, more recent analyses are needed given rapid developments in recent years. Within our TIS analysis of aquaponics, a set of seven functions assessing aspects which impact innovation such as policy, market development, knowledge generation and dissemination, business models, and more, are evaluated to help characterize the performance and dynamics of commercial aquaponics. The assessment of the TIS is supported by data from literature review, policy review, semi-structured interviews with commercial aquaponics practitioners, and a collaborative analysis and review working structure integrating the interdisciplinary expertise of the team. Semi-structured interviews with commercial practitioners in North America (n=25) were conducted in 2021 and assessed through qualitative coding which corresponds to the TIS framework. Through the TIS analysis, pathways for the emergence of aquaponics as a significant contributor to the food system and as a successful strategy to close resource loops are explored to support a future in which the promise and performance of commercial aquaponics align to help achieve crucial circular sustainability transitions.