It is said that the project will be headed by Bill Leach, research director for Sacramento State University’s Centre for Collaborative Policy. The project is aim to establish solutions that will help of both sides of the debate. Christopher Weible, an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Public Policy, will help Leach in his research.
According to marine experts the research will provide a reliable and nutritious food source while easing the United States’ seafood trade deficit. But critics say that it might deplete wild fish stocks, pollute marine environments, displace fishing-dependent communities and produce seafood that is chemically and genetically tainted.
Leach explained that in USA the interest in aquaculture is increasing day by day. He said that the demand of sea food is ever increasing but the debate about promoting and regulating marine aquaculture is still in its infancy. He added that there are impasses and bills that would set policy aren’t able to move through Congress or the state legislatures. According to him the study will help both sides work together to agree on the science and policy questions about where to put facilities and how to operate them.
He further said that there should be collaborative approaches as it will allow public policy debates to move forward, but in a way that is amenable to all sides of the issue.
