Mariculture in a densely urbanized portion of the Brazilian coast: Current diagnosis and directions for sustainable development

Rio de Janeiro State (RJ) is a densely urbanized area in southern Brazil of great economic importance. It has developed and consolidated mariculture in the last three decades as a successful commercial activity of high local and regional relevance. We present here an overview of the mariculture sector in RJ, examine its trends and changes, provide insights, and discuss the implementation of local public policies aimed at its sustainable development. We surveyed 20 mariculture farmers through a closed questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Using articulations and analyses of measures of central tendencies, Person's correlation, comprehension, interpretation, ordering, classification, as well as primary and secondary comparisons of qualitative data, it was possible to register and describe mariculture production in RJ. We also indicate measures that are needed to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially those directly related to mariculture. Our results indicated a shift in socioeconomic profiles reflecting transition to a system with greater control of production methods and diversification of cultivated species. Scallop farming continues to be the main activity in terms of production totals and number of farmers, although emerging activities such as marine fish farming and seaweed farming have been observed in recent years. The lack of any organized structure uniting representatives of the organized sectors of the production chain, dependable provisions of seed, the absence of formal sanitary and environmental monitoring programs, the slow pace of defining and legalizing aquaculture area leasing, the difficulty in obtaining financial credit for production, the need for improvements in technical assistance services, the scarcity of investmnent in Research & Development, and the lack of producer training were identified as the main obstacles to regional development. A strategic plan based on national policies for marine resources is suggested to strengthen mariculture production in RJ and achieve the SDGs of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.