The continued growth of marine aquaculture around the world presents a host of opportunities and challenges for ocean planning and the sustainable use of ocean resources. Anticipating and planning for the range of possible changes raises many scientific and management questions:
Where will growth will occur? Which species will be farmed?
How efficient will production be? How will fish farms interact with other ocean uses? How might repercussions on biodiversity and social diversity potentially transform local communities and social endowed practices? How will the changing climate influence all of these other dimensions? and many more...
Some of the most pressing questions facing the sustainability of ocean aquaculture revolve around climate change: it is a key driver of social, cultural, economic, and ecological change, all of which have repercussions on sustainability. To discern aquaculture impacts and opportunities at multiple scales, scenario models are needed that foster knowledge dialogues across disciplinary boundaries.
A particular pressing need is anticipating the complex interactions with wild fisheries that are likely to increase as marine aquaculture expands into the oceans and the markets.
Theme session B provides an opportunity to review the latest advances in ecological, socio-economic, social-cultural, and coupled-ocean system research around current and future marine aquaculture.
The following topics will serve as a guiding framework for the presentations and discussions:
- What type of sustainable aquaculture in which type of social-ecological setting?
- Marine aquaculture production, adaptation, and mitigation under climate change
- Interactions between aquaculture and fisheries
- Modelling limits and opportunities for growth in the sector
- What are the key externalities that will drive the future of sustainable aquaculture?
