ATTITUDE

Context

Our food system is a major driver of biodiversity loss. The concept of ‘restorative aquaculture’ entails a form of food production that also provides ecological benefits, potentially resulting in net positive environmental outcomes. A candidate sector in Europe is bivalve aquaculture. The implementation of restorative bivalve aquaculture practices involving flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) and mussels (Mytilus spp) offers many opportunities to address coastal restoration needs (e.g., restore lost biogenic reefs, mitigate eutrophication).

Today, the sector is instead struggling, despite ambitions for growth. Barriers include a low social licence to operate, regulatory constraints and poor profitability, with varying conditions across Europe. Given current challenges and opportunities, and several commitments and ambitions related to the blue economy and biodiversity, a transformative change in bivalve aquaculture governance is warranted as a means of fulfilling goals for both biodiversity and food systems.

Main objectives

ATTITUDE aims to generate the key knowledge needed on current barriers and opportunities for implementing restorative bivalve aquaculture practices across Europe. The long-term goal is a transformative change in coastal governance in which viable restorative bivalve aquaculture becomes common practice, providing net benefits to biodiversity and coastal restoration (i.e., an integration of food production, biodiversity restoration, and conservation).

Main activities

The ATTITUDE project design comprises transdisciplinary collaborations centred on a diverse set of case studies across different sea basins. This approach generates significant transnational value through cross-learning, capacity building and identification of good practices derived from different socio-ecological conditions and scientific disciplines.

The project will investigate:

• strategies to improve socio-economic viability,
• the existing and needed natural science evidence base for effective marine management,
• stakeholder and governance landscapes including social acceptability and values.

Co-created and actionable strategies will support the transition from theory to practice in effective integration of bivalve aquaculture with conservation goals, with relevant policies spanning from global down to local. Project outputs will include recommendations for a just transformation of bivalve aquaculture in Europe, enabling maximised positive interactions between production, coastal biodiversity and ecosystem restoration.

Effective stakeholder engagement and communication are essential to ensure the credibility, relevance, legitimacy and accessibility of results. This will be ensured by tailoring activities and outputs to end-user needs. Planned activities and dissemination formats beyond scientific publications include policy briefs, workshops, interviews and seminars. The expected impact of ATTITUDE consists of exploitable results for marine authorities, the bivalve industry and society for the adoption of restorative bivalve aquaculture practices in national policies, enabling protection and restoration of wild bivalve populations and coastal ecosystems and sustainable growth of production.