Planning and licensing for marine aquaculture

Marine aquaculture has the potential to increase its contribution global food system and provide valuable ecosystem services, but appropriate planning, licensing regulation systems must be in place enable sustainable development. At present, approaches vary considerably throughout world, several national regional investigations have highlighted need for reforms if marine is fulfil potential. This article aims map evaluate challenges of planning growth aquaculture. Despite range species, production circumstances, this study found a number common themes literature; complicated fragmented licensing, property rights licence operate, competition space spatial emerging species diversifying (seaweed production, Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture [IMTA], nutrient carbon offsetting with aquaculture, offshore co-location multiuse platforms), address knowledge gaps use decision-support tools. Planning can highly complicated, so UK used as case show more detailed examples that highlight uncertainty industry, regulators policymakers face across interacting jurisdictions. There are many complexities, shows countries undergone, or undergoing, similar challenges, suggesting lessons learned by sharing experiences, even different systems, rather than having insular focus.