18/03/14: Could Social Licence Benefit the Aquaculture Industry?

Traditionally regarded as the domain of mining and other similar land-based extractive industries, social licence is now being considered as a potential benefit to the Aquaculture Industry.
To raise the profile of social licence in aquaculture, the topic is the feature of a special session at the forthcoming World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014 Conference to be held in Adelaide, South Australia, in June.

Social Licence to Operate: Nuture and Grow session, led by Dr Kate Brooks, Director of KAL Analysis and Program Manager at the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC);  will also feature a range of international and local participants including the conference’s plenary speaker Jose Villalon.

Dr Brooks explained that social licence is generally agreed to be the level of acceptance or approval continually granted to an organisation’s operations or specific project by the local community and other stakeholders.

“Social licence can’t be bought and it can’t be sold – that’s what makes it so elusive,” she said. “It really is about all of us taking our corporate responsibility very seriously.

“Although the term may have been about for a number of years in some industry, it has only become spotlighted more generally in recent years and relates to the broader community seeing their own values reflected, or at the very least recognised, in a company’s operations.

“Aquaculture, if not already, can expect to receive attention in regards to what these industries are doing to secure and retain their social licence.”

Dr Brooks said that a company’s social licence can be affected by other businesses in your industry failing to fully appreciate the obligations and responsibilities in maintaining a social licence.

“To optimise a company’s social licence to operate with its broader community, it is in its, and every other company’s interest in the industry, to work together to optimise its social licence to operate,” she said.

World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014 will take place at the Adelaide Convention Centre in Adelaide, South Australia from 7 to 11 June 2014.

World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014 is an opportunity for the international aquaculture community to present their research/work, exchange ideas and discuss a vision for the future of the aquaculture industry as they focus on the theme of ‘Create, Nurture, Grow’, reflecting the dynamic nature of aquaculture development in the region.