California Sea Grant, in collaboration with researchers at several other regional Sea Grant programs, is developing a rigorous large-scale survey that will evaluate public perceptions on a more granular scale than most national assessments. The results will be used to inform an outreach program. “We need to understand what the public thinks, and then address those perceptions — whether they are accurate or not,” says Luke Gardner, who serves as the team lead.
Earlier this month, the National Sea Grant Office picked the project as one of three projects across the country to create regional aquaculture communications and literacy collaboratives. Kevin Marquez Johnson, a California Sea Grant Extension Specialist based at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, also serves on the project team, alongside extension professionals from University of Southern California Sea Grant, Oregon Sea Grant, Alaska Sea Grant and Hawai’i Sea Grant. The results will be shared with all regional Sea Grant programs.