People are part of the natural world and it is increasingly clear that the human dimension has to be considered to not only understand our impact on the environment, but also identify solutions at a local to global scale. The Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) – a collaborative initiative between The Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis – seeks to use synthesis science to address some of the largest environmental challenges facing humans and the environment. With a total of 36 past and present projects, SNAPP brings together experts from diverse backgrounds of academia, government, industry, and conservation to study and ideally integrate the science into levels of change. One such group is the Sustainable Open Ocean Aquaculture Expert Working Group. One of the largest impacts people have on the planet stems from how we produce food, and seafood is no exception. With wild capture fisheries remaining relatively unchanged for the past two decades, aquaculture (i.e., aquatic farming) has become the primary source of seafood for the first time in history and is the fastest growing food sector in the world. But, not all aquaculture is created equal. Through a two and half year effort, the working group laid the groundwork for a greater understanding of the current state, future potential and limitations of marine-based aquaculture to meet growing human consumption demands.
Results/Conclusions
The recent and emerging results from the ongoing collaborative projects will be presented showing the spatial limits and opportunity of sustainable marine aquaculture, how aquaculture can better align with conservation objectives on land and in the oceans, and globally how perceptions of aquaculture are shifting over time and space. Such science is providing improved spatial and conservation-based information for planning by industry and policy makers, has spurred new collaborations to create greater public understanding and awareness of seafood in the USA and Europe, and catalyzed further scientific investigation into the future sustainability of aquaculture under climate change through new synthesis initiatives. Leveraging the wealth of data at our fingertips and participation of experts across fields has created a setting to accelerate our understanding and use of science to help people and nature.