Social licence to operate: Insights from a combined citizen-stakeholder survey of fish farming in the Finnish Baltic Sea

How aquaculture is situated in the social fabric of a nation, or a smaller geographical area, is to an important degree shaped by the citizenry's connections and acquaintances with the industry and its impacts. In Finland, marine fish farming is articulated through a strict environmental regulation apparatus whose requirements the industry seeks to meet via techno-scientific development. This setting contributes to a rather narrowly framed societal dialogue with limited connection to what constitutes the industry's social licence to operate – That is, the enduring community approval of its operations. With the aim of contributing to a broadening dialogue, we conducted simultaneous stakeholder and citizen surveys to explore experts' and coastal dwellers' perceptions of fish farming, its impacts, and the industry's future prospects. Four postures towards the fish farming industry emerged from the data, reflecting divergent views on its social licence to operate. While an important segment of the coastal population is unfamiliar with the industry, there are clear divisions and similarities between a majority that supports increasing fish farming and an important minority critical of the industry and its impacts. There is a risk that the currently techno-scientific or even legalistic nature of both the fish farming governance approach and the debate about the industry's impacts and contributions will overlook the very idea of a social licence to operate. This raises important questions about the extent to which companies and the authorities actually engage with coastal communities • Finns seem willing to favour fish as part of their future diets. • Finnish fish farming faces a dilemma: any expansion causes more emissions. • A techno-legalistic focus overshadows broader debates on the SLO of fish farming. • Improved stakeholder and community engagement is needed in permit processes. • Past challenges remain central in the aims for the SLO of Finnish fish farming.