Aquaculture is playing a crucial role in the transition towards blue food: while the catch of wild-capture fisheries stayed stagnant for the past 30 years, the yield generated by aquaculture has increased in fourfold (FAO, 2022; Golden et al., 2021). As aquaculture intensifies, it is requiring increasingly more space in mainly coastal areas, and concern is being raised on the sustainability and environmental impact of these practices (De Silva, 2012; Price et al., 2015; Salin & Arome Ataguba, 2018). A potential solution being proposed to these spatial constraints and coastal environmental impacts is offshore aquaculture (Buck & Langan, 2017; Gentry et al., 2017). However, while research on the potential of offshore aquaculture is gaining traction, practical implementations remain largely in the pilot phase. A significant obstacle to its widespread adoption is the absence of a clear and robust policy framework (Davies et al., 2019; Lester et al., 2018). While the right ecological conditions and technological innovations are important, an unclear or lacking policy framework can discourage local aquaculture entrepreneurs from investing in offshore production (Lester et al., 2018) or lead to the unsustainable development of offshore aquaculture (Davies et al., 2019; Fujita et al., 2023).
To date, research has primarily focused on country-level assessments of offshore aquaculture policies, and a comprehensive and comparative global perspective appears to be lacking. This study aspires to address this gap by conducting a systematic multi-country review of existing policy frameworks. By examining policy documents from various regions and countries that have a history of aquaculture, we aim to identify and compare key policy strategies and instruments for offshore aquaculture innovation and governance, as well as discern the varying stages of policy development.
Our findings will provide insights into the policy landscape surrounding offshore aquaculture. By revealing trends, similarities and differences in policy approaches, we aim to facilitate the development of policy frameworks that promote the responsible and sustainable upscaling of offshore aquaculture initiatives around the world.
As this is an ongoing study, we plan to present our review framework and discuss our preliminary findings. This research will be part of my PhD dissertation on the governance of offshore aquaculture.