Southeast US Oyster Farmers’ Perceptions of Climate Changes and Extreme Weather Events

The seafood industry, including oyster farming, is an essential aspect of the Gulf Coast of US’ economy. Climate change is expected to impact the seafood industry and the oyster farming community directly through an increased frequency in weather-related closures to harvest. As a result, it is important to know what the impacts of climate change may be on the industry and ways to become more resilient to these future changes. The project aims to examine the perceptions of climate change within the oyster farming community including extreme weather impacts. The survey will consist of Likert-scale and open-ended questions to understand oyster farmers’ current perceptions of climate change, extreme weather events, and the impacts on the industry. Farmers will identify the impacts associated with climate change and extreme weather events that are the most impactful to their industry. Following the survey, semi-structured Zoom interviews will be conducted to examine what oyster farmers perceive as the impacts of extreme weather events on the industry utilizing the results of the survey. To improve climate resilience in the oyster farming industry in the future, it is necessary to understand current perceptions of climate change in the community through studies like this.