The 2018 meeting of the Working Group on Social and Economic Dimensions of Aquaculture (WGSEDA) was held at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), Oban, Scotland, UK, 28–31 May, and was attended by 9 members from 8 countries.

The group focused on the review of data availability for the ICES member states that record the effects of marine aquaculture production as expressed by economic indicators and metrics. These include quantitative measures or estimates of production, consumption, supply, demand, benefits and costs – and including social and environmental effects.

Furthermore, a new method to capture social dimensions of aquaculture with multi-level social indicators was tested on a case study basis, drawing on expert knowledge. It was explored, whether the method helps operationalize the social dimension of aquaculture, whilst acknowledging that the social interactions with marine resource users in each region are influenced by the local context. The latter includes local knowledge of traditional use of marine resources and oceans that needs to be transferred if sustainable aquaculture development under the Blue Growth strategy is to be fostered. These various aspects of operationalization of social indicators require further investigation that will be one central point of discussion during the next annual meeting of WGSEDA in 2019.

In recognition of the development of aquaculture related topics in ICES, the group will aim to establish good links to the new emerging WGs on social and economic issues. Members are interested in exploring collaboration with the new aquaculture groups. This should be supported by proactive actions and close communication between the chairs of the groups. To this end, it was decided to nominate a co-chair to WGSEDA for a year in order to ensure sufficient capacity for this interaction.