Grabb et al. (2025): The importance of engagement with fisheries, aquaculture, and Indigenous communities in the planning and implementation of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR)
Kalina C Grabb, Samantha Clevenger, Helen S Findlay, Helen Gurney-Smith, E B Jewett, Gabriella D Kitch, Paul McElhany, Ken Paul and Sarah Schumann, IN: ICES Journal of Marine Science, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsaf198
As climate change continues to increase in severity, the window of time available to achieve climate stabilization decreases. In addition to reducing emissions, climate solutions such as marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) are being considered. If mCDR is to scale from research to implementation it will impact various sectors including fisheries and aquaculture. Well-coordinated, co-developed deployments along with meaningful and early engagement between the mCDR and fisheries, aquaculture, and Indigenous communities can maximize opportunities to avert zero-sum trade-offs and increase the potential for mutually beneficial synergies between the various groups. Limited engagement with fisheries, aquaculture, and Indigenous communities may enhance the likelihood of community opposition, misinformation, potential ecosystem harm, and/or difficulty in weighing cost-benefits of mCDR approaches. At this early stage of research and development, mCDR initiatives can learn from other sectors and existing networks about best practices for engagement; however, this effort requires prioritization of intentional conversations. This perspective paper offers a brief overview of mCDR overlaps with fisheries and aquaculture, followed by insights about the current state of mCDR engagement with fisheries, aquaculture, and Indigenous communities.