Mariculture Narratives in Climate Change Research and Policy: Alignment, Mismatch, and Opportunities for a Climate‐Resilient Industry

ABSTRACT Like other sectors of our global food system, marine aquaculture (mariculture) is threatened by a myriad of stressors resulting from a changing climate. Increasing attention has been given to the impact of these stressors on mariculture across a variety of taxonomies and geographies. Alongside this perspective of mariculture as vulnerable to climate change impacts, another narrative has also emerged framing mariculture as a potential mitigation and adaptation measure against climate change. Here, we evaluate the scope and context of these differing narratives across the peer‐reviewed literature and how they are reflected in national mariculture and climate change policy across 31 representative countries. Our literature review identifies a strong research bias toward mariculture being impacted by climate change (75%), with a similar trend present across the small number of relevant policies. While there is broad narrative alignment between science and policy at a global level, in comparing country‐level case studies to their corresponding national policies, we find that five countries have no alignment between research and policy with respect to individual climate change stressors; though most countries have at least some degree of alignment. Strategic governance is a critical tool for responding to climate change and has been shown to play a significant role in shaping the marine aquaculture industry. Our analysis highlights a pattern of science and policy mismatch that could lead to missed opportunities to leverage mariculture's potential as a climate change mitigation and adaptation tool as well as bolster the industry's resilience to climate impacts.