Exploring attitudes towards aquaculture development in the UK: A consultative stakeholder approach.

Abstract

This study explores attitudes towards aquaculture development as a way of providing a sustainable source of seafood through a consultative stakeholder approach. Given aquaculture is a less familiar concept within South West England, gaining insight of the views and perspectives of such a development in the region is required to facilitate stakeholder engagement. In-depth qualitative interviews investigate attitudes across five stakeholder sectors: government, fishing/marine, business/catering, tourism/leisure, environmental/charity. Findings show a mix of stakeholder attitudes, which differ by industry sector, from very negative to very positive. From this two segments are proposed (Commercially-Focused; Environmentally-Focused) to enable targeted communication and information dissemination strategies based on key areas of concern.