FishChoice Affiliate, Aquarium of the Pacific, held a forum last fall 'Aligning Stakeholder Communications for U.S. Marine Aquaculture.' Building off this work, the Aquarium has lead a collaborative landscape analysis project with other organizations such as the European Commission and NOAA Fisheries to learn more about how ocean literacy organizations and seafood businesses relay information about aquaculture to audiences and customers. The group developed a survey in order to better understand the aquaculture communication strategies of these stakeholder groups (i.e. aquariums, suppliers, NGOs, retailers). The survey centered around the following questions:

• Who is sharing aquaculture information?
• In what context and through what channels are they doing so?
• How are they sharing information?
• What tools and resources are most helpful for sharing information?

Key highlights from the results of the survey include:

• The public receives information about aquaculture for a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Aquaculture information is generally presented in a positive or neutral tone by stakeholder groups.
• Most stakeholders feel that they have enough information to educate their audiences, but there are real and perceived information gaps among some groups.
• Media and summary reports, as well as farm tours, were identified as the most helpful tools for aquaculture education.
• Among those who see information gaps, translation of aquaculture science was viewed as most helpful for education purposes.
• Connection to producers and aquaculture scientists was also considered as important.

The results from the survey are meant to help shape recommendations for the creating tools and resources focused on cohesive, science-based public education about aquaculture. You can view the survey results in full here.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is also involved in an effort to build support for aquaculture in the United States through work with the U.S. Marine Aquaculture Collaborative Communications Strategy. The strategy aims to create a more predictable framework for responsible aquaculture in the U.S., to promote and facilitate consumption of responsibly-sourced U.S. seafood, and to educate the public on aquaculture and its importance for food supply. The aquarium is looking for input and participation from organizations and business for the toolkit. If you are interested, please visit the aquarium’s FAQ page and take this stakeholder survey.  

Petrale is a round or oval-shaped flounder with a big mouth and both eyes on its right side; the blind side is white and the eyed side is light to dark brown. Flatfish quality varies widely so the best ones will have uniform color and no bruising, according to some buyers. Petrale sole is sold fresh and frozen, whole and in skinless fillets. Petrale sole is an excellent source of low-fat protein, calcium, and other nutrients. The best time to buy petrale is in the winter, when prices are the lowest. Since larger flatfish sell for a premium, smaller fillets can be a good value, according to some buyers.

Based on average landings of petrale sole from 2014-2016 and using the most recent Seafood Watch ratings and MSC certifications, the sustainability breakdown of petrale sole as of February 2019 is as follows:

• ~70% of petrale sole landings are MSC-certified (~90-95% of U.S. West Coast TAC)
• ~5% of petrale sole landings meet a Seafood Watch "Best Choice (green)" recommendation from the California Groundfish Collective (~35-40% of California landings)
• ~95% of petrale sole landings meet a Seafood Watch "Good Alternative (yellow)" (~45% from Oregon, ~30% from British Columbia, ~10% from Washington and California)
• Landings of petrale sole have from 2013-2016 remained very stable, with a ~15% increase in 2015 compared to the other years and nearly double the landings from 2011-2012