Abstract

Aquaculture is the world’s fastest-growing food sector. Within the United States, there is untapped potential for enhancing domestic marine food production and contributing to the blue economy through offshore aquaculture. Currently, there is no finfish marine aquaculture (“mariculture”) that exists in federal waters. Congress has repeatedly failed to pass regulations that would allow the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to regulate and issue permits for mariculture facilities in federal waters. However, the Environmental Protection Agency granted permits to the first offshore finfish aquaculture pilot project, proposed for the Gulf of Mexico. Our study used a multidisciplinary approach to inform mariculture sites by assessing public perception and developing an offshore aquaculture site suitability model that accounts for community vulnerability for the Gulf coast of Florida, a region that NOAA has prioritized for U.S. finfish aquaculture development. We analyzed the common themes and sentiment of news articles, policy documents, and public comments to determine perceptions of offshore aquaculture. Furthermore, we developed a spatial assessment of net pen site suitability that accounted for any potential interactions of net pen placement with recreational and commercial fishing locations. We found a distinct gap between the state of scientific knowledge, policy priorities, and public perception, resulting in the public’s potential distrust of the current permitting process. We aim to fill knowledge gaps for offshore aquaculture siting and propose solutions that policy-makers may use to address the concerns raised by stakeholders, paving the way for an integrated, socio-environmental aquaculture regulatory system.