Underwater community gardens? Exploring community-based marine aquaculture as a coastal resource management strategy in Nova Scotia, Canada [graduate project].
Date
2017
Authors
Bradford, Jessica
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Abstract
Description
Aquaculture is one of the world’s fastest growing food production sectors and presents an opportunity for rural, coastal community development that can support livelihoods. An ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA) has been recommended to facilitate socially and environmentally sustainable development, yet there remains a need to better involve people in planning and operational aspects. Community-based management presents a possible option to advance an EAA in this way; however, context-specific research is needed to understand its potential application and suitability. This research explores community-based marine aquaculture (CBMA) in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada, on provincial and local-scales, using a mixed methods approach, which includes stakeholder interviews, geographic information system (GIS) analysis, and surveys, to examine its suitability as a coastal resource management strategy. Findings suggest that CBMA is a feasible approach to future aquaculture development in NS and its possible implementation is conceptualized. This research also initiates pilot methods that can be used to determine suitability of coastal communities, which factor the importance of community perceptions into the planning and operationalization process. Although this research was undertaken in the context of NS, it has implications that can help to further opportunities for CBMA in other regions of the world, supporting the advancement of the EAA.