Marine Policy Center (MPC)
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The Marine Policy Center (MPC) is the social science research unit of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). MPC’s research integrates social sciences, such as economics and policy analysis, with WHOI’s basic strength in ocean sciences. Current research focuses on issues such as progress in science and technology, access to and control of marine resources, and conservation and environmental protection. While MPC’s research is based in rigorous academic disciplines, much of it is applied in nature and motivated by current issues in marine resource management and marine industries.
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Browsing Marine Policy Center (MPC) by Subject "Aquaculture"
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PreprintAquaculture and capture fisheries : a conceptual approach toward an integrated economic-ecological analysis( 2012-08-02) Jin, DiThis study presents a framework for analyzing the interactions between aquaculture and capture fisheries in the context of ecosystem-based management. We extend a model of the economic and ecological systems in coastal New England by incorporating an aquaculture sector in a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and by examining the forage fish and aquaculture link in a marine food web. We show that aquaculture and commercial fisheries interact in a complex way throughout the economic and ecological systems.
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PreprintAttitudinal factors and personal characteristics influence support for shellfish aquaculture in Rhode Island (US) coastal waters( 2018-03) Dalton, Tracey M. ; Jin, DiThis study explores public interests associated with shellfish aquaculture development in coastal waters of Rhode Island (US). Specifically, we examine (1) the levels of public support for (or opposition to) shellfish aquaculture development and (2) factors driving the levels of support, using survey data and ordinal logistic regressions. Results of the analysis identify several key attitudinal factors affecting individual’s support for shellfish aquaculture in Rhode Island (RI). The level of support is positively associated with attitudes related to shellfish aquaculture’s benefits to the local economy and its role as a nutritional food option, and negatively influenced by attitudes related to aquaculture farms’ effects on aesthetic quality and their interference with other uses. Findings highlight that support for (or opposition to) aquaculture in RI is driven more by attitudes associated with social impacts than by those associated with environmental impacts. The level of support is also affected by personal characteristics related to an individual’s participation in recreational activities. For instance, bicycle riders tend to be supportive of shellfish aquaculture while respondents who participate in sailing and birding are less supportive. By identifying the broader public’s interests in shellfish aquaculture, findings from this study and others like it can be used to address public concerns, incorporate public perceptions and attitudes into permitting decisions, and develop outreach targeted at specific stakeholder groups.
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Technical ReportDeveloping a national marine electronics agenda : proceedings of the Marine Instrumentation Panel meeting, September 12-14, 1989(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1990-12) Gaines, Arthur G. ; Lindborg, Kristina L. C.Thirteen short papers address aspects of competitiveness in the marine electronics instrumentation industry. Topics include activity and status of government initiatives in Japan and Europe to promote this industry; and the possible role of federal-state collaboration in the U.S. Papers address technology transfer between research institutions and the commercial sector; the role of "strategic alliances" in this process; and the "dual-use" concept in effective technology development and commercialization. Other papers address electronic technology applications in speific marine areas, such as the use and implications of the COMSAT mobile satellite communication infrastructure; electronic charts and safety of tanker operations; and instrumentation applications in aquaculture and environmental monitoring.
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PreprintNutrition and income from molluscs today imply vulnerability to ocean acidification tomorrow( 2011-05-20) Cooley, Sarah R. ; Lucey, Noelle ; Kite-Powell, Hauke L. ; Doney, Scott C.Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human industrial activities are causing a progressive alteration of seawater chemistry, termed ocean acidification, that has decreased seawater pH and carbonate ion concentration markedly since the Industrial Revolution. Many marine organisms, like molluscs and corals, build hard shells and skeletons using carbonate ions, and they exhibit negative overall responses to ocean acidification. This adds to other chronic and acute environmental pressures and promotes shifts away from calcifierrich communities. In this study, we examine the possible implications of ocean acidification on mollusc harvests worldwide by examining present production, consumption, and export and by relating those data to present and future surface ocean chemistry forecast by a coupled-climate ocean model (Community Climate System 3.1; CCSM3). We identify the “transition decade” when future ocean chemistry will distinctly differ from that of today (2010), and when mollusc harvest levels similar to those of the present cannot be guaranteed if present ocean chemistry is a significant determinant of today’s mollusc production. We assess nations’ vulnerability to ocean acidification-driven decreases in mollusc harvests by comparing nutritional and economic dependences on mollusc harvests, overall societal adaptability, and the amount of time until the transition decade. Projected transition decades for individual countries will occur 10-50 years after 2010. Countries with low adaptability, high nutritional or economic dependence on molluscs, rapidly approaching transition decades, or rapidly growing populations will therefore be most vulnerable to ocean acidification-driven mollusc harvest decreases. These transition decades suggest how soon nations should implement strategies, such as increased aquaculture of resilient species, to help maintain current per capita mollusc harvests.