Fish Prisons and Bluehouses: Perceived Risks and Benefits of Land-based Aquaculture in Four US Communities

Trust, confidence, familiarity, and support for land‐based recirculating aquaculture facilities

“…Trust based on moral information (shared values) had stronger effects than confidence based on (past) performance information, suggesting messages and actual behavior by the facility‐sponsoring corporation that stress shared values—and benefits outweighing risks—may be more effective at inducing cooperation than touting one's history. That said, qualitative research on local discourses about RAS facility siting suggests that multiple frames about benefits and risks (e.g., (un)natural production system; (un)just extraction and (un)just waste) can activate people's engagement with and stance on RAS facilities (Rickard et al., 2022), and no doubt other proposed activities. Thus, messages may need to grapple with these granularities about trust and benefit‐risk at the local level, rather than emphasize generic (e.g., RAS‐generic) values, benefits, and risks.…”

“…The current study is nested in a larger, mixed‐methods examination—at a scale not previously attempted in this country (see Rickard et al., 2022)—of U.S. public acceptance of four proposed or existing land‐based RAS facilities producing Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) in California, Florida, and Maine. Of the approximately 100 land‐based RAS salmon projects in development worldwide, the exact number of projects in the United States is uncertain and changing, with much of the data considered proprietary information (e.g., Undercurrent News, 2022).…”

“…Local fishermen may worry about competition posed by cultivated fish (e.g., Standal & Utne, 2007). In a recent qualitative study of RAS concerns in U.S. communities where such facilities have been proposed or operated, expressed concerns about negative impacts have included that it provides unfair competition for local wild fisheries; is an unnatural production system, paralleling dangers posed by industrialized terrestrial food production; and environmental impacts may impede alternative land uses (e.g., wildlife conservation, wildlife habitat quality, recreation) or pose social justice issues (Rickard et al., 2022). Residents can oppose these facilities for various reasons, including perceived disruption to community “identity” (cf.…”

Emerging contaminants: A One Health perspective

“…The effects on fish and other aquatic organisms are not fully understood but warrant further investigation. 413 , 414 The UVCBs may also have unpredictable impacts on water and sediment quality and the health of aquatic plants and animals. 415 Therefore, much research is needed to understand the specific effects of individual UVCBs.…”