One identified reason is that coastal aquaculture faces significant social opposition and competition for space ( Knapp, 2012 Froehlich et al., 2017). Although the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) identifies the United States as one of the most prominent nations for marine aquaculture development in terms of coastline length and exclusive economic zone area ( Kapetsky et al., 2013), its contribution to domestic demand is believed to be far below its potential ( Knapp and Rubino, 2016).

However, increases in seafood demand and improvements in technology used for shellfish aquaculture are expected to further intensify pressure on already crowded near-shore coastal environments in coming years ( Halpern et al., 2008 Shumway, 2011). As delicacies, marine bivalves constitute today about 60% of marine and coastal aquaculture production ( Science Advice for Policy by European Academies, 2017 FAO, 2018). Though not all forms of aquaculture are beneficial for the environment ( Naylor et al., 1998), marine bivalve aquaculture, especially oysters, has been recognized as a win–win for society and marine ecosystems as it provides ecosystem services such as water filtration and provision of habitat while also producing low greenhouse gas emissions and efficiently utilizing primary production ( Coen et al., 2007 Grabowski and Peterson, 2007 Duarte et al., 2009 Alleway et al., 2019 Ray et al., 2019). These results indicate that there is room for oyster aquaculture expansion in Virginia if societal, regulatory, and economic barriers can be reduced or if existing leased areas are used more efficiently.Īs of 2018, aquaculture continues to be the fastest growing food production method worldwide and now represents more than half of global human seafood consumption ( Duarte et al., 2009 FAO, 2018). Virginia had the second lowest level of total production of cultured oysters per leased acre among the states on the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States. Non-used leases tended to be smaller, and were found in more populated, high-income regions, consistent with both speculative and exclusionary uses. Although rates of lease use increased from 2006 to 2016, only 33% of leases were ever used for oyster production and about 63% of leaseholders reported no commercial harvests. We found limited evidence for spatial constraints on aquaculture leasing, but strong evidence for social and regulatory inefficiencies. Finally, the performance of the Virginia leasing system was compared with those in other states along the U.S. Then, differences in used and non-used leases were investigated in relation to variables thought to be related to “not in my backyard” attitudes, congestion, speculation, local economic and environmental conditions. We first evaluated if a lack of space was limiting industry expansion and quantified temporal and spatial trends in the use and productivity of leases. This research examined potential barriers to expansion of oyster aquaculture in Virginia. These factors have led to large variation over time and space in the use of leases in lower Chesapeake Bay and privately leased grounds are now thought to be underutilized for oyster production. Though private leases must in theory be used for oyster production, in practice, they can be held for other reasons, such as speculation or intentional exclusion of others.

In Virginia, oyster aquaculture has begun to expand, concurrent with an increase in subaqueous leased areas (over 130,000 acres of grounds are currently leased).

In many areas, recovery of oyster aquaculture faces significant societal opposition and spatial constraints limiting its ability to meet expectations regarding future food needs and provision of ecosystem services. The eastern oyster once provided major societal and ecosystem benefits, but these benefits have been threatened in recent decades by large declines in oyster harvests. 3Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR MARBEC, Avenue Jean Monnet, Séte, France.Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Séte, France 1Department of Fisheries Science, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA, United States.

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