Abstract

Robert Jones*

Bivalve shellfish and seaweed aquaculture represent a global opportunity to promote coastal ecosystem recovery while also providing tangible benefits to humans. We conducted a global spatial analysis using important environmental socioeconomic and human health parameters to identify marine ecoregions with the greatest potential for development of shellfish and seaweed aquaculture to fulfil this opportunity. Coastal ecosystems suffer a slew of complex and interconnected anthropogenic stressors around the world, including nutrient pollution, habitat loss, and the compounding effects of climate change. These stressors have the potential to challenge or disrupt the way ecosystems offer critical services to coastal communities, such as nutrient cycling and fisheries maintenance. Habitat- forming ecosystem engineers such as oyster reefs, sea grass beds, and kelp forests, as well as their associated biotic assemblages, provide critical ecosystem services, but have suffered significant losses worldwide as a result of overharvesting, nutrient pollution, and other harmful human activities.