A Scale Measure of State Regulatory Climate Toward Finfish Aquaculture

States are responsible for implementing many key environmental laws enacted during the last 30 years. State level variations in legal, regulatory, and development programs targeted toward the aquaculture industry can affect aquaculture firm decision making, including site location and species selection decisions. This research focused on development and testing of a summated scale measure of state regulatory climate toward finfish aquaculture. Data for the analysis were generated from a national survey of state level finfish aquaculture programs. The final aquaculture regulatory climate scale (ARCScale) ranges from 0–18, with the numerical value of the scale increasing with increases in regulatory stringency. Scale values were computed for each state plus Guam for five categories of finfish: baitfish, ornamentals, commercial foodfish, freshwater gamefish, and marine gamefish. The scale allows direct comparison between states, enabling aquaculture producers to make more informed location, species selection, and business decisions. The scale also provides a means for evaluating changes in state institutional characteristics and regulatory climate over time.