Why Is the Stakeholder Perspective Important in Research on Inland Aquaculture Development?
How can the development potential of inland aquaculture be assessed? Statistics, legal frameworks and policy documents provide essential information, but they do not always allow us to fully understand how the sector operates in practice.
The development of aquaculture involves many stakeholders with different experiences, expertise and interests. These include aquaculture enterprises, sector associations, public authorities, researchers, environmental experts and policymakers. Each of these stakeholders may view the sector’s challenges and development opportunities from a different perspective.
For this reason, the AQUA4DEV-BS project – “Potential of traditional and recirculation inland aquaculture for inclusive and intelligent fisheries development in the Baltic States” places particular emphasis on stakeholder analysis and semi-structured in-depth interviews.
Interviews make it possible to complement information available from documents and data with professional experience and practical knowledge. They can help to understand how administrative and environmental requirements, market limitations, access to investment, technological modernisation needs and governance issues are perceived and experienced in practice.
A comparative Baltic perspective is particularly important. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia share a common regional context, yet the experiences of sector participants and institutional conditions may differ. Stakeholder engagement will help to identify which issues are common across the Baltic region and which are more closely related to the specific circumstances of individual countries.
At the same time, stakeholder engagement is more than a tool for collecting information. It helps to build a bridge between scientific research and practical experience, which is particularly important when research is intended to contribute to recommendations and practically applicable solutions.
The AQUA4DEV-BS research methodology therefore combines an interdisciplinary qualitative approach, stakeholder analysis, semi-structured in-depth interviews, and comparative legal and policy analysis.
This approach makes it possible to ask not only “What hinders the development of inland aquaculture?”, but also “How is the situation perceived by the people and institutions that encounter these issues in practice?”
Answering both questions is essential for developing a knowledge- and evidence-based perspective on the future of inland aquaculture in the Baltic States.
———-
The information has been prepared in the framework of Activity 1.1.1.9 “Post-doctoral Research” of the Specific Objective 1.1.1 “Strengthening research and innovative capacities and introduction of advanced technologies in the common R&D system” of the European Union’s Cohesion Policy Programme for 2021-2027 research application No.1.1.1.9/LZP/2/25/218 “Potential of traditional and recirculation inland aquaculture for inclusive and intelligent fisheries development in the Baltic States (AQUA4DEV-BS)”.