Social, Cultural and Economic Assessment of Kelp Mariculture Opportunities for Coastal Villages Within the EVOS Spill Zone

This 5-year project aims to assess how Indigenous kelp mariculture operations within the EVOS spill area would be socially beneficial, economically viable and compatible with local cultural values of coastal communities.

Understanding and establishing the potential benefits of kelp farms in the spill zone relies on baseline data collection including local, Indigenous, traditional ecological knowledge, and a focused analysis of consumer willingness to pay for kelp products from remote coastal communities. This data will be collected through; GIS mapping of indigenous knowledge related to kelp harvesting, and story map to inform how kelp forests have changed over time, conducting before and after surveys of 10 communities with near-term prospective kelp farming operations, and conducting Discrete Choice Experiment to evaluate willingness to pay for kelp products produced at Indigenous-owned, regenerative kelp farms, and environmental monitoring data.