Finding Aquaculture: "A phase that will pass."

In 2014, I enrolled at Hampshire College, a small liberal arts school tucked between the farmland and the hills of the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts that offered an alternative curriculum design; there were no majors. My inquisitive nature thrived as I navigated courses of varying disciplines with the guidance of my advisory committee. Coursework in educational philosophy, psychology, agricultural, ecology, and marine science led me down a line of inquiry focused on understanding the ways that humans interact with nature.

To me, the most tangible and universal way that people intact with nature is through their food. The topic of food systems, global or local, was consistent in my courses. It became very clear to me that food systems are something that we are all a part of and that food systems have a grave impact on natural ecosystems. In the light of environmentally conscious food movements and buzzwords like "organic" and "local" I noticed little to no mention of fisheries in the dialogue. This triggered an interest in the fisheries food system, marine biology, and conservation that led to an understanding that the future of the world's oceans is dependent on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.

I saw the spark of hope that aquaculture could have in supporting a future of fisheries food systems and a future of healthy oceans. Though I knew this to be true I soon discovered that aquaculture was not often accepted or seen as sustainable, in fact, it was quite the opposite. As my desire to learn more grew, so did my awareness of the general animosity towards aquaculture. I distinctly remember sharing my excitement about my studies and plans for my thesis with my family. They were appalled. They shamed aquaculture and shunned my interest in it.

After sharing my studies with them the first time I was scared to talk about it again. I even contemplated lying about what I was studying on a few occasions, especially to my family. All the while I was filling my dorm room with papers and books, everything from technical booklets on mechanical engineering of aquaculture facilities to newspaper and magazine clippings of interviews with chefs about fisheries and aquaculture. I was ecstatic. I couldn’t hide the passion and sense of purpose I felt for aquaculture and marine conservation.

At the next family event I boasted my newly acquired knowledge and stood up to my relatives’ bashful remarks with hard facts and quotes. They still dismissed my studies to “a phase that will pass.” I was distraught that even after I had provided concrete information that they were not convinced and disregarding of my interest. Instead of submitting to their pressures for me to “find a more likely career” and “perhaps study finance” I continued to pursue my studies even throughout my summer vacation.

I found a compelling volunteer opportunity in the west of Ireland, a mussel farm that was willing to host me and teach me about the industry of shellfish farming. While there I soaked in every bit of knowledge I could around the subject. I worked long hours at the farm asking the workers about their careers, the struggles and changes especially. Then, I went to my room to write about it all. The capstone of my time there was assisting a student in his graduate research.

The farmer that was hosting us was concerned that because of overstocking in the fjord and new regulations on how far out into the water channel farming could take place was affecting the growth rate of his stock. The mussels weren't maturing in their normal two year span, some of them close to shore were expected to take up to four years. He offered to host this student in hopes of finding scientific data that supported his concerns and could be used to change the regulations on shellfish farm density.

While helping this student I became incredibly fascinated by the connection between aquaculture and ecosystem health. I had read dozens of articles claiming the damage that aquaculture facilities had done on the environment. Yet in this case of the shellfish farm in Ireland, without them the water channel would probably be overrun with phytoplankton, resulting in algae blooms which tend to have detrimental impacts on the environment.

Upon my arrival back in the states, still a month before my final year at Hampshire and my thesis project, I began to find examples of aquaculture that were committed to practices that had minimal impact on the environment and had supported marine ecosystem conservation. To me, these two things are necessary in sustainable aquaculture practice and therefore the future of the industry.

I began my thesis project, first wanting to visit aquaculture facilities and interview more farmers about their practices, sustainability, and the future of fisheries. I began to compile literature to guide my research and found myself skimming through studies on the varying perceptions of aquaculture around the world. Every study seemed to have the same concluding results and implications, that aquaculture was not perceived well by many stakeholders (customers, residents in surrounding areas, policy, fishermen, etc.) and that without an increase in positive perceptions the future of the industry, especially a sustainable industry was at risk.

I decided to scrap my idea to visit farms and interview farmers. It seemed that there was more of a calling to support studies focused on those who did not have positive perceptions, not those that most likely would. So, I designed a study to identify the perceptions of consumers and retailers. These two stakeholder groups were easily accessible and are incredibly important agents of change in the industry. I traveled throughout New England to interview retailers, survey consumers, and see aquaculture products for myself. I was flooded with varying opinions and conflicting facts from both consumers and retailers.

My research concluded that consumers are often misinformed by social media and mislabeling, and that retailers are often not equipt to inform consumers about aquaculture products and processes. For me this opened a door. A door to hold the role as a support to retailers committed to informing their consumers not just about sustainable aquaculture, but sustainable fisheries. The day that the first draft of my thesis ran through the printer I was offered a job as a fishmonger with a company with goals to not only educate their consumers but to commit to offering only sustainable products.

Now, as a fishmonger I work everyday to connect people to their food system and therefore, to nature through advocacy and education. Engaging customers with highly sustainable products is not only a means of advocacy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, but also an act of marine conservation.