A revolution without people? Closing the people–policy gap in aquaculture development

Failure of the blue revolutionis a global risk. The internationalproblem is that there is a gap in knowledge exchange between the aquaculture industry, policymakers trying to support aquaculture development andpeoplewho dependonaquaculture for a job and/or food source. Thus, governments and international organizations promoting aquaculture as the solution to improving food security, nutrition and income are failing to optimise production of natural aquatic resources. We identify a “people–policy gap”, and suggest that this is an understudied constraint, which needs to be overcomebeforeworldwide food security can be achieved fromaquatic environments.Weargue that this gap leads to uneven distribution of benefits, a disconnection between benefits and local needs, and detrimental effects on human health and food security, all of which can have negative repercussions on human communities and ecosystems. In order to address this need, we present an analytical framework to guide context specific, policy-relevant assessments of the social, economic and ecological dimensions of aquaculture on a case-by-case basis. The framework is designed to make best use of existing data and scientific tools for decision-making. In conclusion, we argue for: equal consideration of ecological, social and economic issues in aquaculture policymaking; pre-emptive identification of likely social impacts; integration of people- and context-specific social framing conditions into planning and policy review; addressing the social disconnection between global consumption and production; and, encouragement of creative combinations of theories and methods to assess and interpret the social dimensions of aquaculture in multiple contexts.

Keywords: Aquaculture, human dimensions, Integrated analysis framework, Public participation, Socio-economic assessment

Krause, G., C. Brugere, A. Diedrich, M.W. Ebeling, S.C.A. Ferse, E. Mikkelsen, J.A. Pérez Agúndez, S.M. Stead, N. Stybel, M. Troell. 2015. A revolution without people? Closing the people–policy gap in aquaculture development. Aquaculture 44:44-55.