Description

Please join us for our next free webinar sponsored by the United States Aquaculture Society, the National Aquaculture Association, and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System entitled, “Does aquaculture have a perceptions problem? What farmers are doing about it.”

Date: September 27, 2024

Time: 1:00 -2:00 Central Time

Registration: Click on Meeting Registration - Zoom.

Farmers are well aware of the social challenges that come with starting an aquaculture farm. Conflicts with stakeholders, concerns over impacts, and misinformation can lead to a host of challenges for new and seasoned farmers alike. Some argue that aquaculture has a "public perceptions" problem, but survey data suggests otherwise. In this talk, Emily Whitmore, a social scientist at the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center (MAIC), dives into public perceptions of aquaculture at multiple scales and shares results from a project that explores how Maine shellfish and seaweed farmers are securing social license in their communities.

Emily Whitmore is a social scientist focused on social dimensions of aquaculture development. She joined MAIC in 2022 to develop guidance for farmers on how to work with communities. Though her research is in aquaculture, she is actually a land farmer based in Hollis, Maine. She received her doctorate from the University of New Hampshire.