Causes and consequences of spatial links between sea cage aquaculture and coral reefs in Vietnam

A majority of the sea cage farms in South East Asia are located close to coral reefs. This causes a conflict between conservation and food production since sea cage aquaculture has a number of negative impacts on coral reefs. The aim of this investigation was to assess the drivers causing the sea cage farmers to place their farms close to reefs and to examine some potential farming effects in detail i.e. usage of coral reef fish for grow out farming and feed. For some 3500 Vietnamese fish and lobster farms, we measured; the distance to the closest coastal city (proxy for infrastructure access), satellite derived Chl a (proxy for water quality), wind fetch, and the adjacent coastal slope and elevation. We also performed 159 semi-structured interviews with fish and lobster cage farmers from three regions in Vietnam.