Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

"Smells Fishy": Exploring Sense Of Place Salience In Community Rejection Of Closed Net-Pen Aquaculture In Frenchman Bay, Maine, Gabriella Gurney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The global population is rising, and with it, demand for protein, particularly seafood. Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic species such as finfish, shellfish, and kelp, has been proposed as an alternative to wild-catch fisheries, of which 75% are overfished or at capacity. In Maine, aquaculture is growing, but often faces mixed community response when new or expanded projects are proposed. In the summer of 2020, a large-scale closed net-pen farm for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) was proposed for Frenchman Bay, Maine. Community reaction was instantaneous and overwhelmingly negative. The strong, unified response from residents in the towns of …

Marine Aquaculture In Maine: Understanding Diverse Perspectives And Interactions At Multiple Scales, Melissa L. Britsch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal oceans are changing and experiencing increased use. The social and ecological benefits of healthy coastal oceans are well documented and include habitats for marine species, storm protection, and recreational opportunities (MEA, 2005). As the impacts of human activities are recognized, questions about how ocean spaces should be used are becoming more common. These questions are complex and involve many tradeoffs. Understanding the values people hold about uses, and how activities and ecosystems overlap, is critical for weighing tradeoffs and improving future management. I use the northeastern U.S. state of Maine to study human interactions with coastal oceans. Maine is …

The Influence Of Message Type, Environmental Attitude, And Political Ideology On Perceptions Of Aquaculture In The United States, Tabitha C. Boze

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, aquaculture receives varying degrees of support based on individuals’ perceptions of the industry. This study analyzes the factors that contribute to those perceptions; namely, message type, affect, political orientation, and environmental attitude. We collected data through a nationwide survey, distributed by Qualtrics, which recruited a representative sample of U.S. residents. The survey included multiple-choice, Likert scale, and open-ended questions regarding individual characteristics (e.g., age, income, political orientation, etc.) and opinions on aquaculture. In order to study message type, we employed four experimental conditions (narrative video, narrative text, infographic video, and text) and one control group with …

Grower Risk And Community Perception: Impediments To Growing Maine's Aquaculture Industry, Avery W. Cole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maine has a long and proud history of working waterfronts and commercial fishing. However, in recent decades, aquaculture, or the harvesting or growing of aquatic life, has emerged as another player in the coastal economy. Globally, aquaculture is experiencing the fastest growth of any food sector in the world as it subsidizes floundering wild-capture fisheries (FAO, 2014). Maine and the rest of the United States have not yet participated in this growth, which has led stakeholders and policymakers like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to advocate for massive improvements to the sector by 2020 (NOAA, 2016). To ensure …

Citizen Preferences For Marine Environmental Policy, Amy Bainbridge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The growing global population, combined with increased land use, has emphasized the demand for sustainable ocean management strategies. Among suggestions for these strategies is a closer examination of the visual impact that aquaculture sites may have on coastal homes, as well as perception and preferences on coastal issues including coastal hazards, impacts of development, and marine debris. Maine’s unique and extensive history, as well as geographic location makes it an ideal setting to study these vital coastal issues, as well as to assist decision makers with informed options for management and policy.

This research explores various coastal usages and issues …

Gain Vs. Loss And Near Vs. Far Spatial Distance Message Framing And Support For Aquaculture Among U.S. Seafood Consumers, Sandaruwan P. Kumara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the U.S., the aquaculture industry receives differential support from various publics due to the health and environmental concerns of seafood consumers. Since consumer communication plays a significant role in policy support, understanding how messages about aquaculture should be framed is important. This study investigated the influence of gain vs. loss and near vs. far spatial distance framing on support for aquaculture among seafood consumers in the U.S. The study used a 2*2 experimental design to vary gain/loss and near/far framing among 1052 U.S. residents from all 50 states. An online questionnaire, distributed by the survey firm GfK, was employed …

Assessing Consumer Preferences For Seafood Labels, William C. Brayden Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal communities are host to a suite of economic, cultural, and natural resources, and are often focused around a core such as tourism, beaches, fisheries, or processing. In nearly all cases, coastal communities survive based upon the resources in the surrounding coastal areas and water. As wild fisheries begin to stagnate, many traditional fishing communities are forced to look elsewhere for economic sustenance. While tourism or real estate may provide relief, residents often require a more stable, year-round income. Some coastal communities have begun to transition away from wild fisheries and towards marine aquaculture, or, the cultivation of marine animals …

Assessing Market Integration Among Aquaculture Products And Production Efficiency In New England's Oyster Aquaculture Industry, Ben Scuderi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET) at the University of Maine is taking an interdisciplinary approach to examine many aspects of marine aquaculture. My role on this team has been to focus on economic concerns related to aquaculture production. The main topics addressed here include price interactions between foreign and domestically produced aquaculture products, as well as production efficiency in New England’s oyster aquaculture industry.

We chose to use catfish as a model species in order to assess the role that the price of foreign aquaculture products have on similar domestic products. There are a several reasons for this choice, …

Social And Ecological Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Aquaculture, Karen Pianka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Commercial fishermen in Maine are increasingly dependent upon the American lobster fishery, and this reliance on a single species poses a threat to working waterfronts. Aquaculture represents a potential opportunity for commercial fishermen to diversify their income. Literature on the adoption of innovation suggests that factors such as age, education level, fishing experience, diversification, and leadership are important predictors of early adoption of innovation. However, few studies have examined whether such factors affect the adoption of aquaculture by commercial fishermen. Our marine policy research studied fishermen enrolled in two pilot shellfish and seaweed aquaculture classes held in 2013 in Harpswell …