Collaborative project educates the public on sustainable aquaculture

The U.S. imports most of its seafood, creating an annual seafood trade deficit of over $17 billion. Development of the U.S. aquaculture industry will increase our domestic supply of safe and sustainable seafood while also providing domestic jobs and tools to rebuild protected species and habitats. However, the overall public perception of aquaculture is largely negative. University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant funded a collaborative project among multiple entities—Aquarium of the Pacific, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Seafood Nutrition Partnership—to implement a multi-channel communications strategy to educate and engage the public in dialogue about the benefits of marine aquaculture, its role as a conservation tool, and the value of eating safe, sustainable seafood. 

Key Results:

  • The creation of five short, educational videos are accessible through iTunes, social media, and the Aquarium of the Pacific’s website

 

Project Impacts & Application:

  • Videos were presented as part of the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Online Academy, which has been featured in publications such as The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and Forbes 
  • The team gave numerous public talks, including at the Aquaculture America Conference, the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, and a keynote at the Canadian Aquaculture Association Conference  

 

Principal Investigators: 

  • Linda Duguay, Ph.D., USC Sea Grant 
  • Jerry Schubel, Ph.D., Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific
  • Kim Thompson, Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific 
  • Dr. James Morris, Ph.D., National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, NOAA

 

Funding:

NOAA, 2016-2018

 

Additional Info: 

http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/seafoodfuture/ocean_to_table/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/marine-aquaculture-interactive/id1437841902?mt=8 

 

Access our Publications Database to view publications from this project or other related topics