Recirculating aquaculture systems are increasingly seen as an important component of aquaculture sectors around the world. In the United States, efforts to increase the nation’s aquaculture output have inspired RAS proposals in several states. These proposed developments have been met with varied levels of support from key stakeholders and the public. Addressing these social challenges requires analyzing the development conflicts and building an understanding of public perception surrounding RAS with solutions in mind. The challenge is to account for the context specificity surrounding aquaculture development, which includes taking into consideration the species, size of the operation, and impacts to local and regional social-ecological systems. To this end, we propose a three-tiered approach to researching public perception of RAS development starting with qualitative assessments of local perceptions , followed by empirical exploration of drivers of support at a regional scale, and ending with a decision support tool for community and industry stakeholders . At present, each stage of the recommended approach is being explore via research towards understanding public perceptions of RAS development in Maine, U.S. We intend to share the benefits of our three-tiered approach, to share results to date, and future research directions.
First , stakeholder interviews ( n = 71) across 3 proposed U.S. RAS facilities including sites in Maine, California, and Florida have been completed and analyzed to explore the discourse surrounding the ensuing conflicts and drivers of Social License to Operate(SLO) – tacit approval from relevant stakeholders. Using an inductive grounded theory approach, we have completed three rounds of coding to arrive at themes that capture both SLO perceptions and the spatial scales (local, regional, national, global) used to frame social-ecological risk/benefit perceptions (e.g., impacts to jobs, local trails, ways of life, etc.). Findings from this assessment will inform survey design to analyze public perception of risks and benefits, industry values, trust, and SLO for RAS developers. Here we plan to empirically explore the relationships between the variables above and the (SLO) framework. This effort is currently underway with the of survey deployment in Fall 2024. Last, using the findings from both local and regionally oriented research, the development of a decision support tool for RAS development site selection can help decision makers address these urgent challenges. This spatial analysis and decision support tool will be based on not only conventional RAS site selection criteria (e.g., water supply, power supply, market access, etc. ) but also on a) restorative opportunity based on adaptive re-use of existing infrastructure , b) spatial explicit survey results from empirical research relating to risk/benefit perceptions and SLO, and c) ecological components such as proximity to protected areas and habitats. The first iteration of this spatial model is complete, with future iterations planned in the near future.