Offshore aquaculture is a growing industry, but a lack of social acceptance is limiting development, including within the USA. We used the Gulf Coast of Florida, where there has been industry and government interest in development, as a case study to explore offshore aquaculture potential and methods for integrating stakeholder concerns into offshore aquaculture development. We assessed (1) social acceptance of offshore aquaculture in the Florida Gulf Coast using public comments; (2) site suitability for offshore development using social, biological, and technical data; and (3) potential impacts of offshore aquaculture on communities using socioeconomic vulnerability indices. We found that many stakeholders distrust policymakers and industry and have concerns about potential environmental impacts. We created species-specific suitability maps for red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and almaco jack (Seriola rivoliana), demonstrating that large areas of the Gulf are suitable for offshore aquaculture development. We show that many coastal and fishing-reliant communities have existing vulnerabilities that aquaculture development could affect, but the public comments did not reflect these. To gain social acceptance, industry and government agencies will need to better incorporate public feedback into planning processes in a meaningful way. Consulting local communities and adapting projects in response to their concerns can help to secure social license for offshore aquaculture.

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评估拟议近海水产养殖发展的社会环境适宜性和社会许可：佛罗里达州案例研究

近海水产养殖是一个不断发展的行业，但缺乏社会接受度限制了发展，包括在美国。我们以佛罗里达州墨西哥湾沿岸作为案例研究，探讨了近海水产养殖的潜力以及将利益相关者的关注纳入近海水产养殖发展的方法，该地区的工业界和政府一直对发展感兴趣。我们利用公众意见评估了 (1) 佛罗里达州墨西哥湾沿岸近海水产养殖的社会接受度； (2) 利用社会、生物和技术数据进行海上开发的场地适宜性； (3) 使用社会经济脆弱性指数分析近海水产养殖对社区的潜在影响。我们发现许多利益相关者不信任政策制定者和行业，并对潜在的环境影响感到担忧。我们为红石首鱼（ Sciaenops ocellatus）和鳅鱼（Seriola rivoliana ）创建了特定物种的适宜性地图，表明海湾大片地区适合发展近海水产养殖。我们表明，许多沿海和依赖渔业的社区存在水产养殖发展可能影响的脆弱性，但公众意见并未反映这些。为了获得社会认可，行业和政府机构需要以有意义的方式更好地将公众反馈纳入规划流程。咨询当地社区并根据他们的担忧调整项目有助于确保近海水产养殖的社会许可。