The vast majority of marine aquaculture in the U.S. occurs in state waters and, thus, is regulated and managed at the state level, with considerable variation in how individual states manage the industry. Even within the management frameworks of individual states, there is a diverse patchwork of policies, regulations, and agencies that govern the marine aquaculture industry. This complex mosaic of state policies can be confusing for prospective farmers but also offers a tremendous opportunity for cross-state learning, exchange, and coordination among aquaculture managers and policy makers. In 2022, the National Sea Grant Law Center (NSGLC) at the University of Mississippi School of Law and project partners at Florida State University (FSU) received funding from the Builder’s Initiative to develop a living database and a framework for standardizing state-level marine aquaculture policy data. The database, which launched in the Fall 2023, is accessible through an online dashboard hosted via Tableau Public and linked from the NSGLC’s website. This work builds on a 2019 project funded by NOAA Sea Grant where the FSU researchers assessed aspects of marine aquaculture policy for the 23 marine states in the U.S., categorizing and synthesizing 16 attributes of aquaculture and marine aquaculture legislation, policies, regulatory frameworks, and management. With the additional funding, t he NSGLC and FSU team conducted research to expand the dataset with 26 additional attributes, for a total of 42 attributes.
The resulting database provides the first systematic overview of the state-level marine aquaculture policy landscape in the U.S. The interactive dashboard provides a powerful new tool for federal and state aquaculture managers, academic researchers, and industry members to learn about, explore, and compare state aquaculture policy regimes. Increasing access to these data will help users identify inconsistencies among states and potential policy models for adoption to address gaps.
The database will be maintained and updated annually by the NSGLC in partnership with the State Marine Aquaculture Coordination Network (SMACN). SMACN is a professional network that brings together state aquaculture managers and Sea Grant extension personnel to discuss best practices for marine aquaculture management and an avenue for interstate information exchange.
This presentation will provide an overview of the research and development process, followed by a walk through and demonstration of the functionality of the interactive dashboard.