RESTORATIVE AQUACULTURE FOR PEOPLE, PROFIT AND PLANET

Abstract

Narratives continue to provide the public and decision-makers with a bleak image of aquaculture sites as industrial waste areas, destroying and depleting the natural environment and its biodiversity, and creating a desert from an ocean oasis. However, examples demonstrate how restorative aquaculture could lead sector-wide approaches to decisions on financial allocations for nutrient removal using combined best practices that merge aquaculture into plans to ameliorate damaging coastal pollution while increasing aquaculture growth for both business development and accelerated seafood production.

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50 | INFOFISH International 3/2024 www.infosh.org
Aquaculture
RESTORATIVE AQUACULTURE FOR PEOPLE, PROFIT AND PLANET
Barry Antonio Costa-Pierce
Narratives continue to provide the public and decision-makers with a bleak image of aquaculture sites as industrial waste areas, destroying
and depleting the natural environment and its biodiversity, and creating a desert from an ocean oasis. However, examples demonstrate
how restorative aquaculture could lead sector-wide approaches to decisions on nancial allocations for nutrient removal using combined
best practices that merge aquaculture into plans to ameliorate damaging coastal pollution while increasing aquaculture growth for both
business development and accelerated seafood production.
Harvesting seaweed in the Gulf of Maine, USA
Restorative aquaculture provides the paradigm shift needed to develop
new social licenses to operate in the world’s new geographies for
aquaculture. It places the knowledge-rich “aquaculture toolbox” front and
centre in the planning and development of nancially feasible pathways
for new aquaculture production as well as the restoration of habitats and
complex ecosystems.
Bivalve and lower trophic level aquaculture have led the way, as there
exist important examples where user conicts were resolved due not
only to technological advances but also to a growing consensus that
aquaculture can “t in” in an environmentally and socially responsible
manner in many marine coastal environments, the majority of which are
already crowded with existing users. Adoption of restorative aquaculture
by aquaculture industries and coastal communities can provide a strong
scientic basis for a new social contract for aquaculture by contributing
to regional sustainable development planning, advancing new policies
and investments to accelerate aquatic food production; and by using the
many methods of ecological aquaculture for environmental restoration to
replace hearsay, junk science, and misinformed advocacy.
Setting the stage for restorative
aquaculture
For all its advances over the past 50 years, global aquaculture remains
concentrated in Asia, which accounts for about 90% of the production
from this sector. The region farms the largest number and variety of
aquaculture species and most of the world’s aquafarmers are Asian1.
China dominates Asian production (65%); Egypt dominates Africa (73%);
Chile dominates the Americas (34%); and Norway dominates Europe
(45%). The largest ecosystem on Earth, Oceania, has a tiny amount of
global aquaculture production (0.2%) (Table 1). Only Norway, Chile and
Egypt produce more than 1 million tonnes/year; but these production
successes outside of Asia remain regionally-concentrated (tilapias in
the upper Nile, salmon in southernmost Chile); as well as limited in the
diversity of species farmed and systems used (salmonids in net cages,
tilapias in ponds).
1 Mair, G.C., Halwart, M., Derun, Y. et al. A decadal outlook for global aquaculture.Journal of the World
Aquaculture Society (2023) 54, 196-205. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwas.12977

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Aquaculture
Many rightfully tout the awesome growth of aquaculture worldwide, with
the world’s seafood press and scientists boasting to policymakers that
aquaculture now provides “half of the world’s seafood supplies”. However,
for most of the world’s geographies, and for most nations outside of
Asia, 50% of their seafood supplies do not come from aquaculture2.
Many analysts and organizations examining future needs for global and
local seafood supplies have called for this to change and argue that
aquaculture development is vitally important to sustain seafood supplies
to meet growing world demand3.
TABLE 1. Animal aquaculture production, by region and leading producers
(million MT). Source: FAO 2020
World Asia Africa Americas Europe Oceania
Inland
51.3 47.7 1.9 1.2 0.5 0.0
Marine
30.8 25.1 0.3 2.6 2.6 0.2
Total
82.1 72.8
China
(47.6)
2.2
Egypt
(1.6)
3.8
Chile
(1.3)
3.1
Norway
(1.4)
0.2
Notes: Marine includes coastal and brackishwater aquaculture. Less than 0.1 MMT is reported by FAO as
“zero.”
Why has aquaculture development been prevented or slowed across
large areas of the world outside of Asia, in these vast areas of great
potential for growth; i.e. areas of the world that are the “new geographies
for aquaculture”? As one of the rst authors to collate the potential of
restorative aquaculture in 20024, we reviewed the poor performance of
growth in aquaculture production in Europe and North America from 1995
to 2002 (which has continued to today) and gave our opinion that:
“the degraded state of many aquatic ecosystems combined with public
concerns about adding any new sources of aquatic pollution to already
over-burdened ecosystems will require aquaculture to develop ecosystem
approaches and sustainable operating procedures and to articulate
a sustainable, ecological pedagogy. In the 21st century, aquaculture
developers will need to spend as much time on designing ecological
approaches to aquaculture development that clearly exhibit stewardship
of the environment, as they do on technological advances coming to
the eld. Clear, unambiguous linkages between aquaculture and the
environment must be created and fostered, and the complementary roles of
aquaculture in contributing to environmental sustainability, rehabilitation
and enhancement must be developed and clearly articulated to a highly
concerned, increasingly educated and involved public.”
Development of restorative
aquaculture
While the use of the adjective “restorative” attached to “aquaculture” is
a recent development, it follows directly from, and is aligned with, the
theories, principles, and practices of many areas of ecological restoration
2 Costa-Pierce, B.A., Chopin, T. The hype, fantasies and realities of aquaculture development globally and in
its new geographies. World Aquaculture (2021) 52, 23-35.
3 HLPE. Sustainable sheries and aquaculture for food security and nutrition. (2014) A Report by the High
Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security.
4 Costa-Pierce, B.A., Bridger, C.J. The role of marine aquaculture facilities as habitats and ecosystems,
(2002), 105-144. In: R. Stickney & J. McVey (Eds.) Responsible Marine Aquaculture. CABI Publishing Co.,
Wallingford, U.K.
(Figure 1). All were developed by environmental scientists having the
overall goal of reversing the major structural and functional damages to
Earth/ocean systems due to industrialization and urbanization post-WWII
to the 1970s (Box 1).
Figure 1. Scope for restoration and ability to recover naturally (articial
habitats are in italics)
Source: Geist,J., Hawkins, S.J. Habitat recovery and restoration in aquatic ecosystems: current progress
and future challenges. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 26,5, 942-962 (2016).
https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2702
Box 1. Symptoms and trends of a stressed ecosystem
Energetics
• Community respiration increases
• Production/respiration becomes unbalanced
• Maintenance: biomass structure ratio increases
• Importance of auxiliary energy increases
• Exported or unused primary production increases
Nutrient Cycling
• Nutrient turnover increases
• Horizontal transport increases and vertical cycling of nutrients
decreases
• Nutrient loss increases
Community Structure
• Proportion of r-strategists increases
• Size of organisms decreases
• Life span of organisms decreases
• Food chains shorten because of reduced energy ow at high
trophic levels
• Species diversity decreases and dominance increases
General systems-level trends
• Ecosystem becomes more open
• Autogenic successional trends reverse
• Eciency of resource use decreases
• Parasitism and other negative interactions increase and
mutualism and other positive interactions decrease
• Functional properties are more robust than species composition
and other structural properties
Source: Odum, E.P. Trends expected in stressed ecosystems. BioScience 35, 419–422. (1985). https://doi.
org/10.2307/1310021

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Aquaculture
A transformation of food production systems is needed to meet the
challenges of simultaneously adhering to planetary dimensions, food
security and advancing human health and wellness. The United Nations
adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2016 as a
“universal call to action for people, planet, peace, partnerships, and
prosperity”. Restorative aquaculture touches many of the SDGs beyond
the one goal of “life under water”. Troell et al.5 reviewed how aquaculture
contributes to many of the SDGs and what is needed for the future,
stating that:
“Marine aquaculture of lower trophic level aquatic species (mostly aquatic
invertebrates), such as bivalves, urchins, sea cucumbers, and seaweed
aquaculture have the ability to improve water quality, serve as buffers to
coastal erosion, ameliorate nutrient pollution, provide essential habitats
for other species, and transform carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles.
Such production systems mirror agro-ecosystems, aiming at broad
preservation of ecosystem functionality.”
Ecosystems goods and services
provided by lower trophic level
restorative aquaculture of shellsh
and seaweeds
Restorative aquaculture can be a cornerstone that changes the dynamic
of aquaculture development in its new geographies as it is a critical
part of all of the SDGs, sustainable rural development, and enhanced
5 Troell, M., Costa-Pierce, B., Stead, S. et al. Perspectives on aquaculture's contribution to the Sustainable
Development Goals for improved human and planetary health. Jo. World Aquacul. Soc. 54, 251–342 (2023).
https://doi.org/10.1111/jwas.12946
environmental sustainability. But restorative aquaculture is a new
rubric, with a new community of practice which doesn’t necessarily
align with “traditional” aquaculture communities. Development of
restorative aquaculture has been facilitated by the new entry of a wider
diversity of actors and organizations also concerned with aquaculture’s
social-ecological impacts (diversity, inclusion, indigenous) beyond
its technological progress. This is especially so in aquaculture’s new
geographies outside of its well-established modern and historical home
in Asia.
The leading organizations in the funding and development of restorative
aquaculture to date are not traditional industry or academic organizations,
but large international conservation NGOs such as The Nature
Conservancy (TNC) and the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature (IUCN). IUCN has incorporated aquaculture into its portfolio of
“Nature-based Solutions”6&7; meanwhile, TNC has developed the “Global
Principles of Restorative Aquaculture”8&9 which dene restorative
aquaculture as:“…occurring when commercial or subsistence aquaculture
provides direct ecological benets to the environment, with the potential to
generate net positive environmental outcomes.”
6 Le Gouvello, R., Brugere, C., Simard, F. Aquaculture and Nature-based Solutions. Identifying Synergies
Between Sustainable Development of Coastal Communities, Aquaculture, and Marine and Coastal
Conservation. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland (2022). https://doi:10.2305/IUCN.CH.2022.02.en
7 Le Gouvello, R., Cohen-Shacham, E., Herr, D. et al. The IUCN global standard for Nature- based Solutions™ as
a tool for enhancing the sustainable development of marine aquaculture. Front. Mar. Sci. 10:1162487 (2023).
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1146637
8 The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Global Principles of Restorative Aquaculture. TNC, Arlington, VA, USA (2021).
https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/TNC_PrinciplesofRestorativeAqua culture.
pdf
9 Alleway, H. K., Waters, T. J., Brummett, R. et al. Global principles for restorative aquaculture to foster
aquaculture practices that benet the environment. Cons. Sci. Practice, e12982 (2023). https://doi.
org/10.1111/csp2.12982
Source: The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Restorative Aquaculture for Nature and Communities. TNC, Arlington, VA, USA (2023). https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/restorative-aquaculture-
for-nature-and-communities/

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Restorative Atlantic salmon aquaculture farm, New Brunswick, Canada
What sets the standard for determining what is, and what is not,
“restorative aquaculture” is the clear emphasis on the “net positive” for
the environment which puts a higher standard of environmental values
than articulated for ecological aquaculture10. This is not to say that these
organizations leading and supporting restorative aquaculture do not care
about its allied economic and social impacts; rather, as organizations
founded on the creed of environmental/nature preservation/conservation,
they have core values that require that credible positive benets to the
environment be demonstrated.
10 Costa-Pierce, B.A. 2021. The principles and practices of ecological aquaculture and the ecosystem
approach to aquaculture. World Aquaculture 52 (1): 25-31. CP_2021_WA_52_1_-libre.pdf (d1wqtxts1xzle7.
cloudfront.net)
Examples of restorative aquaculture
Aquaculture today is a transdisciplinary science which can be dened as
investigations of “wicked problems” that need creative solutions; reliance
on stakeholder involvement; and engaged, socially responsible science11.
Included in TNC’s foundation document, the “Global Principles for
Restorative Aquaculture”, are three examples and roadmaps for
restorative aquaculture at a signicant scale: (i) impacts of lter-feeding
carps on lake water quality in China; (ii) the emergent seaweed industry
in Belize; and (iii) the large oyster restorative aquaculture initiative
called SOAR (Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration). There are
many others being recognized and developed; ten examples are given
in Table 2. All include innovative partnerships and multiple opportunities
for the aquaculture industry, for applied research, for communications
professionals, and for communities. As can be seen, restorative
aquaculture is not limited to animals but also includes “freshwater and
marine agronomy”, a sophisticated form of higher- and lower-plant
aquaculture which produces not only commodities for sale, but also
assimilates nutrients and creates and restores disturbed natural habitats
worldwide. Tidal wetland, mangrove forest and seagrass restoration are
all forms of restorative aquaculture that create, enhance, and maintain
productive ecosystems and habitats in a long-term, sustainable manner.
11 Bernstein, J. H. Transdisciplinarity: A review of its origins, development, and current issues. J. Res. Prac. 11,
1-20. http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/510/412
Table 2. Ten notable examples of restorative aquaculture development
Ecosystems Target restorative aquaculture species Principal partners; references
Inner Bay of Fundy, Canada
Atlantic salmon National Parks Canada, Fort Folly First Nation, University of New Brunswick, Cooke
Aquaculture
Fundy Salmon (youtube.com)
Veta La Palma, Spain
Mullet, eel, seabass, sea bream, shrimp, carp, meagre, sole La Palma Parque Natural, Universidad de Sevilla, Universidad de Pablo Olavide de Sevilla
TED Talk
Dan Barber
(on youtube.com)
Pacic NW Coast, British Columbia,
Canada
Littleneck clams
(Leukoma staminea), Butter clams
(Saxidomus
giganteus)
Northern Coast Salish and Southern Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations, Laich-kwil-tach
Treaty Society, Simon Fraser University, University of Washington
a
, Pacic Sea Garden
Collective
b
Hawai'i, ancient sh ponds
Hard clams
(Mercenaria mercenaria), milksh, mullet, moi, ogo
(seaweed, Gracilaria parvispora), sea cucumbers, akulikuli (native
edible coastal vine (Sesuvium portulacastrum)
Kauai Sea Farms,
County of Kauai,
Hui Mālama Loko Iʻa & KuaʻĀina UluʻAuamo (KUA)
SOAR (Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and
Restoration)
Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) The Nature Conservancy, Pew Charitable Trusts, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
SOAR (Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration)
Coastal estuaries, Cape Cod, USA
Eastern oysters, Hard clams Massachusetts Towns, State Government,
The Green Center
Coastal fjords, Norway
Seaweed (Saccharina latissimi, Laminaria hyperborea)
Urchinomics, Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Noma, Nosan Corp., Nippon Telegraph and
Telephone Corp.
Coastal tropics
Mangrove aquaculture ecosystems Guangxi Province, China; Ca Mau Province, Vietnam
c
Coastal tropics
Coral reefs Indo-Pacic Nearshore Ecosystems
d
Coastal temperate
Marine agronomy of seagrasses Shandong Peninsula, China lagoon/estuarye
a Groesbeck, A. S., Rowell, K., Lepofsky, D. et al. Ancient clam gardens increased shellsh production: adaptive strategies from the past can inform food security today. PLoS ONE 9:e91235 (2014). https://doi: 10.1371/journal.
pone.0091235
bPacic Sea Garden Collective. Sea Gardens Across the Pacic: Reawakening Ancestral Mariculture Innovations. Version 1. Washington Sea Grant at the University of Washington (2022). https://www.seagardens.net
c Romañach, S., DeAngelis, D.L., Koh, H.L. et al. Conservation and restoration of mangroves: Global status, perspectives, and prognosis. Ocean & Coastal Mgt. 154, 72-82 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.01.009
d Zhang, D., Fang, C., Liu, J. et al. An effective seed protection method for planting Zostera marina (eelgrass) seeds: Implications for their large-scale restoration. Mar. Poll. Bull. 95, 89-99 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpol.2004.09.001
e Pomeroy, R.S., Parks, J.E., Balboa, C.M. Farming the reef: is aquaculture a solution for reducing shing pressure on coral reefs? Mar. Policy 30, 111-130 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2004.09.001

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Aquaculture
A new social construct for aquaculture
expansion
As one of the world’s most widely traded foods, globalization has
affected seafood communities locally by accentuating production places,
regions and exports. All direct consumption and developments remain,
however, in one way or another, regionally- and locally-contextualized.
Development of community-based, hyper-local restorative aquaculture
ecosystems serve to demonstrate new aquatic food production systems
with shortened value chains that assist in the evolution of the “culture
of aquaculture”. Community-based restorative aquaculture systems
can ameliorate nutrient pollution and climate change and reclaim and
help preserve the Earth’s remaining biodiversity while contributing
signicantly to local economic and cultural development. With the
proper documentation - and the development of new narratives – the
development of cooperative, transdisciplinary restorative aquaculture
ecosystems can yield greater returns for a community’s “return on
investment” (ROI). Two hyper-local examples in the USA illustrate the
potential for new conceptual frameworks for ROIs.
Louisiana has lost millions of hectares of coastal wetlands but is home to
about 68 000 ha of red swamp craysh (Procambrus clarkii) aquaculture/
rice wetlands. From mid-autumn to mid-spring, aquafarmers cultivate
craysh, then in summer they grow rice. This craysh/rice aquaculture
ecosystem is an essential habitat for colonial water birds. It can be argued
that the craysh aquaculture wetlands have allowed a stunning recovery
of birds, many of which are considered endangered and threatened. The
Lake Martin rookery east of Lafayette, Louisiana is an example. This
rookery is surrounded by more than 13 000 ha of aquaculture craysh
wetlands which support robust nesting populations of egrets, herons, ibis,
and spoonbills, all of which have rebounded dramatically. Bird predation
causes economic losses to craysh farmers, but bird tourism, recreation,
and sport hunting incomes are worth millions of additional dollars a year
to rural communities (see also Veta La Palma, Spain, in Table 2).
Another very important example of restorative aquaculture has been
developing over the last 10–15 years in towns along the estuary-rich coast
of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. Towns in this region urgently need to
control water pollution that has led to an increased number and severity
of harmful algal blooms in coastal estuaries and freshwater ponds,
principally due to accelerating inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to
aquatic ecosystems in the warmer months of the year. The Massachusetts
Estuaries Project (MEP) was created in partnership with the University
of Massachusetts to conduct detailed scientic reviews and modelling
studies12 that determine the total daily maximum load (TMDL) necessary
to support healthy estuarine ecosystems. This is followed by actions of
towns who develop watershed plans to remove nitrogen loads to achieve
the target TMDLs.
Traditionally, water quality restoration goals have been met almost
universally by a focus on capital-intensive development of sewer systems
12 The Massachusetts Estuaries Project and Reports. https://www.mass.gov/guides/the-massachusetts-
estuaries-project-and-reports
(this very public debate continues everywhere). Falmouth, a coastal
town on Cape Cod which has about 30 000 residents (around 90 000 in
summer), is seeking a new solution. The town has 14 diverse estuaries.
In 2002, Falmouth was cited for violations of the US Clean Water Act
due largely to nitrogen pollution, especially nitrate from septic systems
which leached nitrogen into groundwater and then into estuaries; in
addition, one highly-impacted estuary receives 70% of the euents
from a wastewater treatment plant. Nitrogen loadings are very high; total
loadings were estimated for some estuaries as high as 30.2 tonnes of
nitrogen per year. Over the past years, Falmouth has included shellsh
aquaculture and residential urine diversion in its nitrogen-removal
strategies, to complement the traditional sewer approach.
Incorporating shellsh aquaculture and urine diversion into plans has
demonstrated how restorative aquaculture and individual homeowners,
via urine diversion, could contribute to more comprehensive nutrient
remediation and environmental restoration. Urine diversion is the
concept of diverting urine from wastewater to manage nitrogen, since
80% of the nitrogen in wastewater is from urine, but urine is only about
1% of its volume (about 120 gallons [454 L/person/year])13&14. Thus,
managing urine is a very ecient and cost-effective method of nitrogen
removal from the environment. Using these two more affordable methods
of nitrogen reduction means less reliance on the traditional demands by
governments for increased taxes to fund ever-increasing and very costly
capital investments in sewering.
Innovative restorative aquaculture is in part of the plans in Falmouth,
which has zoned areas for both commercial and recreational shellsh
farming for nitrogen removal to ameliorate damaging coastal pollution.
Nutrient credits that will accrue to the town, that the State would give for
the amount of nitrogen the shellsh harvests remove each year, are an
active part of the on-going discussions. Any town resident can harvest
a limit of one bushel of oysters per harvest trip (about 10–15 kg) during
the permitted season (late Fall to early Spring). Commercial shellsh
farmers are contracted by the town and pay a USD 20 000 access fee for
0.5 acres (0.2 ha) of coastal bay. Shellsh farmers are obligated to grow
a maximum biomass on the lease. In 2023, shellsh farmers harvested
1.43 million oysters from just 1.5 acres (0.6 ha). The town has determined
that nitrogen nutrient credits per oyster harvested would be 0.28 g N/
oyster. In 2023, it was estimated that a total of 400 kg of nitrogen was
removed from the 1.5 acres (0.6 ha) of oysters. This removal could offset
about USD 3 million in costs for additional sewer infrastructure. The
oysters harvested produced an estimated commercial gross revenue of
USD 350 000 to USD 700 000. This restorative aquaculture scheme is so
successful that the area is expected to increase ten-fold in 2024.
Planners have calculated a hypothetical case to determine if combining
urine diversion and oyster aquaculture together could eliminate the need
for sewering in one watershed. This example watershed has about 4 500
homes. At a 4.5 kg N discharge to groundwater per house/year, the total
13 Wald, C. How recycling urine could help save the World. Nature 602, 202-206 (2022). https://mahb.stanford.
edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/d41586-022-00338-6.pdf
14 Maingay, H., Barnhart, E. Putting urine to work for us. Falmouth Enterprise, February 2, 5 (2024) https://
www.capenews.net/falmouth/columns/putting-urine-to-work-for-us/article_b967ca90-5a8d-57de-94cc-
7eef9655d947.html

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nitrogen to be removed would be 20 250 kg. Assuming that 75% of the
urine can be captured by homeowners (3.4 kg N), urine diversion could
remove about 15 300 kg N/year. If 1.5 acres (0.6 ha) of oysters captured
400 kg N, only 12.4 acres (5 ha) of additional shellsh aquaculture could
remove all the remaining 4 950 kg of nitrogen.
The future of restorative aquaculture
For the future growth of restorative aquaculture globally and locally,
there will be needs for: (i) aquaculture industry adoption and investment;
(ii) transparent, third-party requirements of Monitoring, Reporting
and Verication (MRV); (iii) alignment into the planning, development,
and monitoring of freshwater and marine protected areas (MPAs);
(iv) signicant engagement of indigenous nations and fostering their
leadership; and (v) expansion and development into rewilding initiatives.
There are reviews and roadmaps now available for industry and
communities to consider; for example, in restorative shellsh
aquaculture15. Important commercial examples now exist such as Offshore
Shellsh Ltd. and Plymouth University (UK) which have provided the
scientic basis for mussel aquaculture development in energetic ocean
sites via an array of opportunities and funds that have been obtained to
support a diversity of targeted applied aquaculture and environmental
studies.
The standard for determining what is “restorative aquaculture” is the
clear emphasis on the “net positive” for the environment. As such, all
operations claiming to meet this high standard should be required to
undergo MRV to ensure that the standard is met. This will be a challenge
but could also be an exciting opportunity for aquaculture operations to
partner on an equal and strategic basis, and to avoid any exploitation and
tokenism too often present in the past. Whether this will evolve into some
sort of formal or informal certication regime remains an open question.
Planning and development of restorative aquaculture in community-
conserved biodiversity hotspots such as aquaculture in marine protected
areas (MPAs), as led by the IUCN, are very important future opportunities
for aquaculture growth16.
Indigenous aquaculture communities are ancestors of all global
aquaculture practitioners alive today. Indigenous knowledge systems of
aquaculture are part of not only their birthrights but of all humanity17. An
estimated 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity is in the indigenous
nations worldwide. Leadership in restorative aquaculture by indigenous
communities can not only reclaim their past wisdom but also advance
community-based restorative aquaculture locally and globally. Restorative
aquaculture development by traditional knowledge-keepers in indigenous
nations can help ameliorate the combined climate and biodiversity crises,
while re-orienting economies to more sustainable approaches. Alignment
of restorative aquaculture with the IUCN Global Indigenous Network for
Aquaculture (GINA) is a tremendous opportunity18.
15 Carranza, A., zu Ermgassen, PSE. A global overview of restorative shellsh mariculture. Front. Mar. Sci.
7:722 (2020). https://www.doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00722
16 IUCN. Aquaculture and Marine Protected Areas. Report (2017) IUCN, Gland, Switzerland https://portals.
iucn.org/library/node/46692
17 Costa-Pierce, B.A. The anthropology of aquaculture. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 6:843743 (2022). https://
doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.843743
18 Global Indigenous Network for Aquaculture. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Declaration at the World Conservation Congress (2020). https://www.iucncongress2020.org/motion/
Restorative aquaculture is not fully synonymous with the modern
concept of “rewilding”, as the latter “aspires to reduce human inuence
on ecosystems” and “emphasizes recovery of ecological structures
and functions of ecosystems prior to human inuence”19. A key feature
of rewilding is its focus on replacing human interventions with natural
processes with the aim to create resilient, self-regulating, and self-
sustaining ecosystems. If restorative aquaculture can become rewilding,
a major expansion of the concept could occur as theUnited Nationshas
listed rewilding as one of several methods needed to achieve massive-
scale restoration of natural ecosystems as part of the30x30campaign
(protecting 30% of the planet’s oceans, lands and freshwater by 2030),
and beyond.
Other references
• Costa-Pierce, B.A. Ocean food systems and hybrid seafood
production: Transdisciplinary case studies of cod, eels, salmon and
lobster. Sustainable Development Research (2023) 5, 31-43.https://
doi.org/10.30560/sdr.v5n1p31
• Costa-Pierce, B.A. Sustainable ecological aquaculture systems:
the need for a new social contract for aquaculture development.
Marine Technology Soc. Jor. (2010) 44, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.4031/
MTSJ.44.3.3
• Dinerstein, E., Vynne, C., Sala, E. et al. A global deal for Nature:
Guiding principles, milestones, and targets.Science Advances5,
eaaw2869 (2023).https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw2869
• Edwards, P. Aquaculture environment interactions: Past, present
and likely future trends. (2015). Aquaculture, 447, 2-14.https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2015.02.001
• The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Restorative Aquaculture for
Nature and Communities. TNC, Arlington, VA, USA (2023). https://
www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/
restorative-aquaculture-for-nature-and-communities/
19 Carver, S., Convery, I., Hawkins, S. et al. Guiding principles for rewilding. Cons. Biol. 35, 1882–1893 (2021).
https://doi:10.1111/cobi.13730
Barry Antonio Costa-Pierce is a Professor in the Faculty
of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, Bodø,
Norway; and the CEO/CSO of Ecological Aquaculture, LLC.
He is a Portuguese-American who has served as a sheries
and aquaculture research scientist and policy expert for
international education and research organizations, banks,
and marine industries throughout the world.
Dr Costa-Pierce has a Ph.D. in Oceanography and Aquaculture from the
University of Hawai’i and an M.Sc. in Zoology and Limnology from the University
of Vermont. He is an Emeritus Professor of Fisheries & Aquaculture at the
University of Rhode Island and an Emeritus Professor of Marine Sciences at
the University of New England, USA. He was a member of the FAO team that
developed the “Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture”. Dr. Costa-Pierce served
for 20 years as Editor and Editor-in-Chief for Aquaculture, leading a global
expansion in the size and scope of this top scientic journal. He is a Fellow
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2023 he was
awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa in Science (Honorary Doctorate) from the
Faculty of Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.