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Research area 6: Impact of mariculture

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Researcher in charge (Research Area leader)

Dr John Armbrecht, Senior lecturer, Department of Business Administration.

Challenges

Mariculture has physical and psychological impacts at a local, regional and national level. In order to understand and assess the impact of mariculture from a holistic perspective including the environment, the economy and society, different types of techniques and their impacts need to be understood from society’s perspective. We focus on the challenge of understanding the attitudes and perceptions of people, i.e. what do people think of mariculture and how do they perceive mariculture production and mariculture products? What are the primary drivers of attitudes and perceptions? Are perceptions grounded in decent information and knowledge about mariculture and its products and does providing information constitute a way to cope with negative attitudes among the people?

Goals

Understand what concerns people have in regards of mariculture production and products.
Understand if attitudes and perceptions are grounded in decent information and knowledge.
To describe and analyze the impacts of different mariculture techniques in order to understand how they affect society.

Results

People’s resistance towards mariculture products and production are important hindrances to this industry’s development. This research area contributes with a deeper understanding of what people think about mariculture products in terms of 1) environmental impacts such as use of antibiotics and acidification, 2) economic effects such as creation of new jobs, and 3) socio-cultural impacts. This ensures well-balanced and sustainable policy decisions, which are essential for sustainable societal development. Knowledge of how mariculture is perceived also allows for the development and establishment of mariculture techniques that provide safe food and have local support.