Zoë Brittain1, Louise Cairney1, Prue Francis2, Alecia Bellgrove1,
1School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool, VIC, Australia
2 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Queenscliff, VIC, Australia
The emerging Australian seaweed industry is often described as one of great potential – for creating healthier oceans, regional jobs and reducing Australia’s carbon emissions. Momentum within this industry is building rapidly, with seaweed production framed as a ‘sustainable’ development option for coastal regions. But terminology such as ‘sustainable’ often remains vague, leaving space for miscommunication and misunderstanding between stakeholder groups, creating the potential for poor project outcomes and issues with community support. Our research systematically reviewed global academic literature that discusses ‘sustainable’ seaweed production, critically analysing the use of terminology and exploring potential repercussions of having conflicting, contradictory or ill-defined ideas of what ‘sustainable’ means. Survey data collected from Australian stakeholders further explored the varying ways in which groups understand ‘sustainability’ in the context of seaweed production. The survey results from 12 stakeholder groups will be presented in the context of understanding the differing expectations groups may have regarding what Australian seaweed production must or must not include if they are to describe themselves as ‘sustainable’, and how these expectations can affect the social license of future seaweed production ventures.