Chapter 8
The Socio-economic Dimensions
of Offshore Aquaculture in a Multi-use
Setting
Gesche Krause and Eirik Mikkelsen
Abstract Decision-making within the marine realm is a complex process, which
endorses ecological, societal and economic needs and they must therefore be
managed jointly. Much of the formerly “free oceans” is nowadays subject to
intensive uses, thus making the need to optimise the management of the resources
within a multifunctional and multi-use(r) context apparent. The high competition
for functions and uses of inshore and nearshore waters has given strong incentives
to investigate the opportunities of moving industrial activities offshore. The current
raise of offshore aquaculture is one prominent example of this. However, our
understanding of the social dimensions and effects of offshore aquaculture is yet
incomplete. We need to consider also how different multi-use settings for offshore
aquaculture affect the socio-economic outcomes on various levels. During the
development of offshore aquaculture, this multifunctional perspective has emerged
especially for the combination with offshore wind farms. This synergy of two
different stakeholders, the so-called multifunctional utilisation of marine areas, can
be viewed as a new concept by the implementation of integrated, consensus-based
resource planning conditions. We suggest a typology of social dimensions of
marine aquaculture, based on the literature of “traditional” nearshore aquaculture.
Based on this typology we discuss the current level of knowledge on the
socio-economic dimensions of multi-use offshore aquaculture and point to further
research needs.
G. Krause (&)
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Earth
System Knowledge Platform (ESKP), Bussestrasse 24, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
e-mail: gesche.krause@awi.de
G. Krause
SeaKult—Sustainable Futures in the Marine Realm, Sandfahrel 12, 27572 Bremerhaven,
Germany
E. Mikkelsen
Departement of Social Science, Norut Northern Research Institute AS, Postboks 6434, 9294
Tromsø, Norway
© The Author(s) 2017
B.H. Buck and R. Langan (eds.), Aquaculture Perspective of Multi-Use Sites
in the Open Ocean, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51159-7_8
163
The Socio-economic Dimensions
of Offshore Aquaculture in a Multi-use
Setting
Gesche Krause and Eirik Mikkelsen
Abstract Decision-making within the marine realm is a complex process, which
endorses ecological, societal and economic needs and they must therefore be
managed jointly. Much of the formerly “free oceans” is nowadays subject to
intensive uses, thus making the need to optimise the management of the resources
within a multifunctional and multi-use(r) context apparent. The high competition
for functions and uses of inshore and nearshore waters has given strong incentives
to investigate the opportunities of moving industrial activities offshore. The current
raise of offshore aquaculture is one prominent example of this. However, our
understanding of the social dimensions and effects of offshore aquaculture is yet
incomplete. We need to consider also how different multi-use settings for offshore
aquaculture affect the socio-economic outcomes on various levels. During the
development of offshore aquaculture, this multifunctional perspective has emerged
especially for the combination with offshore wind farms. This synergy of two
different stakeholders, the so-called multifunctional utilisation of marine areas, can
be viewed as a new concept by the implementation of integrated, consensus-based
resource planning conditions. We suggest a typology of social dimensions of
marine aquaculture, based on the literature of “traditional” nearshore aquaculture.
Based on this typology we discuss the current level of knowledge on the
socio-economic dimensions of multi-use offshore aquaculture and point to further
research needs.
G. Krause (&)
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Earth
System Knowledge Platform (ESKP), Bussestrasse 24, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
e-mail: gesche.krause@awi.de
G. Krause
SeaKult—Sustainable Futures in the Marine Realm, Sandfahrel 12, 27572 Bremerhaven,
Germany
E. Mikkelsen
Departement of Social Science, Norut Northern Research Institute AS, Postboks 6434, 9294
Tromsø, Norway
© The Author(s) 2017
B.H. Buck and R. Langan (eds.), Aquaculture Perspective of Multi-Use Sites
in the Open Ocean, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51159-7_8
163