Cindy Sandoval is the communications specialist for NOAA Fisheries' Office of Aquaculture.
Tell us a little bit about your role as communications specialist at NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture. What do you do? As the communications specialist for the Office of Aquaculture my responsibilities include providing relevant marine aquaculture information to stakeholders and designing outreach strategies and materials. I coordinate communications efforts both with internal and external stakeholders while building partnerships to foster sustainable aquaculture education and understanding. Why did you decide to work in communications? Specifically, why did you decide to tackle seafood and marine aquaculture? One of the reasons to work in science communications is to inspire ecosystem stewardship and increase understanding about many topics, including sustainable seafood. Most of the public still has limited understanding of aquaculture and may encounter information that can be out of date, inaccurate, or incomplete. Working with researchers, policymakers, farmers, and educators to help the public make informed decisions is very important to me. You’ve had the opportunity to visit U.S. farms to create some of your outreach and education resources. What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about marine aquaculture? One aspect that many might find surprising is just how friendly farmers are. Everyone has an idea about a corn farmer or tomato farmer, but when the public thinks of farming on water the idea gets a little fuzzy. These aquaculture farmers are just like the farmers you imagined as a kid: They are friendly and hard-working, and they are excited to share their knowledge and expertise with you. These men and women are also some of the best environmental stewards around. They rely on the ocean for their livelihood, and they are fierce supporters of a healthy ocean. What are some examples of NOAA’s efforts to educate stakeholders and the public about marine aquaculture? NOAA uses a variety of communication channels to educate stakeholders. One of my favorite events is the NOAA Open House. During these events the Office of Aquaculture staff interacts with thousands of visitors and explains the importance of sustainable aquaculture. We even teach a few people how to shuck oysters. We attend many stakeholders conferences to engage with growers, policymakers, and educators to discuss our collective challenges and opportunities and formulate solutions. We also engage with the aquarium community to help inform their visitors. These institutions are a trusted source of ocean science information, and they can help educate millions of visitors about aquaculture’s role in sustainable seafood. We create products including fact sheets, webpages, videos, and webinars that allow experts and scientists to share aquaculture information in easy-to-use formats. How do public perceptions (real and perceived) about marine aquaculture affect the growth and expansion of marine aquaculture in the U.S.? Public perceptions of aquaculture play just as big a role as aquaculture policies and regulation when it comes to industry growth. If aquaculture misconceptions halt the growth of the industry in the U.S., farmers and the industry as a whole will expand their business in other nations. This lack of understanding about both the challenges and benefits of aquaculture can have real impacts on our working waterfronts, coastal communities, and seafood independence. Public perception is vital to building an aquaculture industry that complements our wild fisheries here in the U.S. How can stakeholders help address these perception challenges? Every stakeholder group can play a role in changing aquaculture perceptions, whether it is a seafood restaurant training their staff to talk about aquaculture’s role in sustainable seafood, a teacher introducing students to the cutting-edge science used in aquaculture, or a farmer inviting the public to tour their site. Collectively we can all add to the conversation about aquaculture and help other stakeholders understand the opportunities for sustainable ocean farming. What are the best opportunities for collaboration with NOAA’s efforts? There are many opportunities to collaborate with NOAA on aquaculture efforts. NOAA offers a variety of grants throughout the year to help address industry barriers, bring new species to market, and even to increase public engagement with aquaculture. We also take part in stakeholder webinar series, open house events and panel discussions and help design education training. Perhaps some of the best opportunities to collaborate are through the NOAA Fisheries Regional Aquaculture Coordinators. Each region has at least one coordinator who can help connect you to farmers, researchers, and other appropriate stakeholders and colleagues in your area or collaborate on aquaculture projects. What is your advice to the professionals of the broader community (including government leaders, educators, researchers, environmental organizations, etc.) about communicating U.S. marine aquaculture to their audiences? What do you want them to know or consider as they address this topic with their audiences? In the U.S., we need to build on our current wild capture success and–at the same time–create a climate of opportunity for domestic marine aquaculture. Diversifying U.S. seafood production can expand and stabilize the U.S. seafood supply in the face of environmental change and economic uncertainty. This is not wild-capture vs. aquaculture. It is about sustainable seafood and healthy protein for our nation. We need both industries to meet the current and future demand, and by working together and sharing lessons learned we can accomplish a lot. What are 2-3 messages that you think the public should know about marine aquaculture? U.S. fishermen and fish farmers operate under some of the most robust and transparent environmental standards in the world. NOAA Fisheries works to advance and export sustainable management practices internationally, establish and maintain a level playing field for our fishermen and fish farmers, and maintain confidence in U.S. seafood production and access to the global marketplace. NOAA recognizes that marine aquaculture is vital for supporting our nation’s seafood production, providing year-round jobs, rebuilding protected species and habitats, and enhancing coastal resilience. We remain committed to supporting cutting-edge science and research as well as federal policymaking and regulation to grow sustainable aquaculture in the U.S. and expand its social, economic, and environmental benefits.
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Dr. Halley Froehlich is an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Learn more about her research here.
Tell us a little bit about your research at UCSB…what topics are you currently exploring? My research largely revolves around understanding the sustainability of seafood and marine ecosystems under climate change now and in the future, with a particular emphasis on aquaculture (i.e., aquatic farming). Why did you decide to become a scientist, and specifically, why did you decide to focus on seafood and food systems? It was not a linear path! That is for sure. Both my parents are scientists, so appreciation for the sciences was prominent growing up. I was also raised to love the outdoors, camping and fishing nearly every summer near my home state of New Mexico. My grandfather was an albacore fisherman, so I come by it honestly. But I was also a rebellious teenager and originally wanted to be a fashion designer (I know, what?). So, it took some time to wind my way back to the sciences, mostly catalyzed by extraordinary lecturers and professors during my times as an undergrad. Teachers really can change your life. Studying seafood specifically emerged from working in a sturgeon lab as a technician during my undergrad years at UC Davis (three years). That lead to my time studying Dungeness crab (the best crab, I might add) at the University of Washington for my Ph.D. (five years of my life), and finally global offshore aquaculture for my postdoc at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS; another four years). One of your specialties is data synthesis. How does it complement traditional research? Have you ever heard the phrase “we are swimming in data?” Well, synthesis science – a specialty of NCEAS – takes that to heart and essentially harnesses the collective works and data from around the world to answer large scale and/or long-term questions that could not be easily addressed by a single scientist. How can data synthesis be applied in policy and practice? Data synthesis allows us to see the broader trends and patterns of a system, like seafood, which can help in understanding the positive and negative consequences of something like aquaculture, for instance. This is can be particularly useful for policymakers or managers because it can highlight tradeoffs and data gaps, giving them a better foundation of what to expect (to the best of our knowledge) when implementing new rules and regulations. Based on your research, what are some of the greatest opportunities for marine aquaculture? From my research, what I am finding, along with my colleagues, is marine aquaculture can be a way to produce a lot of food with less of an overall impact when compared to other forms of food production, especially animals. While this doesn’t mean zero impact, because it is a food system, generally aquaculture, especially when managed well, has a lot of potential help to meet the growing demand for food and ideally lift some of the burden from land-based farming. Whether that will happen remains to be seen, but aquaculture will certainly continue to be the dominant form for future seafood production. What are some of the greatest challenges? Do we have the scientific knowledge and technology to do it right? We do have a good sense of “good” versus “bad” practices for aquaculture. Supporting good actors in a system where people want cheap seafood is a grand challenge. This goes for wild fisheries as well, I might add. What role can scientists play to support efforts to bridge theory and application, specifically for marine aquaculture development in the U.S.? Science is critical for planning, managing, and protecting marine ecosystems. Scientists can help provide the objective understanding and data to help policymakers make strategic decisions, especially when thinking long-term. But that is only if that information gets articulated and received at that level and not stuck in the “ivory tower.” What are 2-3 messages that you think the public should know about marine aquaculture?
Dr. Rebecca Gentry is a post doctoral researcher at Florida State University. Learn more about her research here. Tell us a little bit about your research. What topics are you currently exploring? Broadly, my research is focused on understanding how humans can best use ocean resources in a sustainable way while also conserving the natural environment. My specialty is marine aquaculture and exploring a wide variety of questions related to its development potential and sustainability. I am currently working on several projects related to understanding why marine aquaculture has developed in such diverse ways in different places throughout the world. The better we understand the patterns and drivers of marine aquaculture development, the greater the likelihood that we can facilitate the development of sustainable marine aquaculture in the future. Why did you decide to become a scientist, and specifically, why did you decide to focus on seafood and food systems? I have always loved both science and writing and actually first planned to be a science journalist. However, I found that I wanted to gain a more thorough understanding of the science I was writing about than one can as a journalist. So I became a scientist! I am fascinated by food systems because they have such a profound effect on human well-being and the environment. I am interested in understanding how we can design aquaculture to benefit both people and the natural world. One of your specialties is looking at complex issues spatially. Tell us about some of your work to map areas of the ocean that may or may not be suitable for marine aquaculture. I find the spatial component of marine aquaculture to be particularly fascinating, since aquaculture is essentially integrated into the surrounding ecosystem, and therefore differences in the environment can have profound effects on how the farm operates and how it affects its surroundings. A few years ago several colleagues and I developed a global-scale assessment of marine aquaculture potential. This was challenging due to the availability of data at the global scale and the need to develop a method to compare productivity potential across varied regions. Although working at the global scale necessitates some level of simplification, I believe that this sort of high-level research can provide important insights that may not be apparent by looking at a single, smaller-scale study area. Ultimately, I think that it is important to work at a variety of scales, and that global work can and should inform regional studies and vice versa.  Gentry et. al. 2017. Mapping the global potential for marine aquaculture. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 1. 10.1038/s41559-017-0257-9. Based on your research, what are some of the greatest opportunities for marine aquaculture?
My research has helped to demonstrate the enormous potential for marine aquaculture production, particularly in the offshore environment. There are so many excellent growing areas in countries all over the world, and if developed sustainably, this industry could provide significant benefits for food security and economic development. However, the offshore aquaculture industry is still in its infancy, mostly, I believe, due to economic and regulatory uncertainty. What are some of the greatest challenges? Do we have the scientific knowledge and technology to do it right? I think we have a lot of scientific capacity to develop sustainable marine aquaculture. However, new challenges are constantly arising, as are new ideas to improve the environmental, social, and economic performance of aquaculture. I don’t think there will ever be an end point where we can say we are done striving to develop better aquaculture systems. What role can scientists play to support efforts to bridge theory and application, specifically for marine aquaculture development in the U.S.? It is the responsibility of scientists, especially those of us who work on applied research, to engage with the public, regulators, and the seafood industry throughout the research process. These ongoing conversations are critical to ensure that scientific research is timely, relevant, and in touch with real issues. By being both engaged and independent, scientists are in a unique position to produce research that has the power to inform policy and uncover new insights that might shift the conversation surrounding marine aquaculture in the U.S. What are 2-3 messages that you think the public should know about marine aquaculture?
 What does marine aquaculture look like? Do we have marine aquaculture in the U.S.? Where? These are questions posed by many in the general public who know little, if anything about marine aquaculture. Most people are familiar with land-based farming as they’ve likely passed them at some point in their travels and may even know someone who works or has worked on a farm. The same is not true for marine aquaculture. This Toolkit was designed to help improve public perceptions about responsible marine aquaculture by providing accurate information. This is great for those already in the know, but a critical first step for most of the general public is simply making them more familiar with what marine aquaculture is and what the sector looks like in the U.S. Seafood for the Future created a story map, titled: Marine Aquaculture: Operations in the United States, for this purpose and we need your help to make it a useful tool for educators, communicators, and even researchers.
The story map provides a general overview of what marine aquaculture is, its status in the United States, and why it is important. It features a map of U.S. marine aquaculture operations (operating and in the permitting process) across the country In addition to providing quantitative details regarding production and scale, the included images and context help the public begin to understand what marine aquaculture in the U.S. looks like. It is important that we include as many farms as possible to paint a more accurate picture of what marine aquaculture really looks like in the U.S. The more robust it is, the more useful it will be as a communication and reference tool. If you are interested in featuring your farm on the story map, please contact Mackenzie Nelson at mnelson@lbaop.org.  This year's theme for the UN FAO's annual #worldfoodday is Healthy Diets for a #Zerohunger World. We all know that seafood from well-managed wild fisheries and responsible aquaculture can provide unique and essential nutrients to support healthy diets. Seafood for the Future has put together some social media inspiration for those who want to share and amplify accurate information about seafood's role in providing nutritious food that supports healthy people and ecosystems on and around #worldfoodday. Images are available for free in the Toolkit. A signed user agreement is required for access to images and footage. Happy posting!
Some additional resources for information and inspiration on seafood and human health:
In 2017, the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Seafood for the Future program was awarded funding from NOAA’s USC Sea Grant program to create a video series to highlight responsible marine aquaculture in the U.S. The series, titled: Ocean to Table: Stories of Food, Farming, and Conservation launched in October 2018. It highlights various species and production types in the U.S. Each video (total of five) featured a conversation between a scientist, farmer, and chef and a cooking segment. The series was narrated by Chef Barton Seaver. As per the grant, Seafood for the Future was required to fund an evaluation to learn more about the efficacy of the series in terms of affecting public attitudes towards U.S. marine aquaculture. Due to additional funds available from another Sea Grant project, we were able to conduct two evaluations. The first featured the full videos and provided little information on the efficacy of specific messaging. The second allowed us to dive deeper into specific messages and segments. In this post we will share some key results from the second nationwide survey with a census-representative (general public) sample of 800. These results may be useful to help inform the development of stronger, more effective messages and communication strategies. You can view Survey 1 and Survey 2 for the full reports, including methodologies. Are the Videos Effective? Yes! Results show that survey respondents’ views about marine aquaculture improved after viewing the videos. These results mirror results from the first survey. In this second round, we broke down the videos to get a better sense of the specific segments and messages that resonated with the public (e.g. discussion segment only; cooking segment only; intro only; closing only). The results showed little difference in terms of the effectiveness of the segments. The “no food” segments performed slightly better, indicating that we could have shortened the videos by removing the cooking segments and probably had the same effect (some respondents from the first survey indicated that the videos were too long). That’s not to say that cooking segments are not critical for some groups who may be more engaged by the culinary elements. It’s also important to note that this series did feature a scientist, farmer, and chef (see trusted source info below), which may or may not influence its efficacy. The bottom line...videos can be effective outreach tools. NOTE: Pre-test responses were given before viewing the videos and post-test were given after.  @Prime Group Preferred Terminology There has been some debate among communicators about the terminology we should be using to engage the public about marine aquaculture. Based on the results of this survey, it seems as though there is no clear winner. This could be due to the fact that most people have little or no prior knowledge about marine aquaculture. In terms of engaging the general public, this may be beneficial because they are essentially a blank slate. It's important to recognize that it is actually a small segment of the public who are actively engaging in political processes that can prohibit the growth and development of a responsible marine aquaculture sector in the U.S. Understanding how actively engaged groups leverage and respond to this terminology could help to develop stronger communication strategies to effectively engage with them and others.  @Prime Group Most Trusted Sources of Information Understanding that most of the general public doesn't know what marine aquaculture is, we took a broad approach with this question, asking respondents to rank the most trusted sources of information regarding environmental sustainability of food. Scientists and farmers took the top spots, followed by chefs. This seems to complement a recent PEW study that revealed that public confidence in science is increasing. It may also be a contributing factor to the success of this video series in terms of improving perceptions about marine aquaculture since scientists and farmers were featured in each segment. As we develop communication strategies and resources, we should consider integrating information and perspectives from these key groups. Highlighting collaborative research projects, for example, where scientists are working with farmers to fill knowledge gaps and develop better practices that support healthy ocean ecosystems and improved product quality may be an effective engagement strategy.  @Prime Group Optimal Messaging Out of 10 messages tested, the following resonated most among respondents (see full survey report for list of messages and methodology). The messages themselves should not be used as written. They were roughly drafted to get a sense of general themes that resonate with the audiences and are not entirely accurate (e.g. we do not know if expanding domestic marine aquaculture in the U.S. will actually lower the cost of seafood). That said, the general themes and ideas presented should be considered and adapted as appropriate to ensure accuracy as we develop messaging and communication strategies. Because these are messages that resonated with the general public, they may also be useful for engaging some policy makers. More research should be conducted to learn more about messaging that resonates with more actively engaged groups.  @Prime Group So What?
This information is valuable in terms of helping us as a community to develop stronger and more effective messaging and communication strategies to engage the general public. It should be used as a guide from which we can identify general themes and strategies, adapting as appropriate to ensure that the end products are accurate. There are certainly opportunities to continue to improve and expand upon this information, particularly as it pertains to specific groups that are more actively engaged in the marine aquaculture conversation. It is important that we communicate these types of findings with each other and collaborate to facilitate more effective and accurate messaging across diverse networks. Leveraging this information individually won’t have much of an impact. Collectively, however, we can move the needle in support of responsible U.S. marine aquaculture that supports healthy ocean ecosystems, people, communities, and economies. We’re all in this together. In the words of Michael Jordan, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Do you have information to share? Or some insight based on your own experiences? We want to hear from you. Comment below or contact us directly. |
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Views and content shared by the organizations and people featured in this Toolkit do not necessarily reflect those of the Aquarium of the Pacific, Seafood for the Future, or our sponsors and collaborators. Any mention of specific brands, products, or policies is not an endorsement by the Aquarium of the Pacific, Seafood for the Future, or our sponsors and collaborators.