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?
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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. |
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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.