Across many Pacific Island Countries, food insecurity and malnutrition are on the rise. In response, governments, development agencies, and non-governmental organisations are promoting small-scale aquaculture as a complement to fish supplied through coastal fisheries. While small-scale aquaculture has been widely adopted in parts of Asia and Africa, its adoption in rural Pacific Island communities remains relatively low. In this paper, we draw on Diffusion of Innovation theory and apply a classification tree analysis to model the influence of farmers’ socio-economic attributes, communication channels, and attributes of the innovation, on the adoption of tilapia aquaculture. We compare 40 tilapia aquaculture adopters with 40 non-adopters in rural Solomon Islands. Our results show that farmers’ socio-economic attributes have the highest influence on tilapia aquaculture adoption. Tilapia aquaculture adopters were older, male, less subsistence-oriented, and had lower material styles of life than non-adopters. Information regarding tilapia aquaculture was most shared through informal channels, including relatives and word-of-mouth, compared with formal sources (e.g. fisheries extension officers, expert farmers, pamphlets, and posters). Lastly, while tilapia aquaculture was seen as compatible with socio-cultural norms and livelihood demands, its relative advantage and observability in comparison with other livelihood activities were perceived as low. Overall, this study suggests that tilapia aquaculture (and associated benefits) is not reaching the poorest and vulnerable groups (e.g. women or subsistence-oriented households) in rural Solomon Islands. These findings point to a need for in-depth understanding of socio-economic attributes of farmers, thus ensures strategies to support marginalised groups to participate in and benefit from tilapia aquaculture. The study also highlights the need to better utilise informal and locally appropriate communication channels to effectively support the spread of tilapia aquaculture in rural Pacific Islands contexts. Ultimately, this research can inform small-scale aquaculture development policies of the Government of Solomon Islands, and other Pacific Island Countries, to support the sector in contributing to rural food and nutritional security.

在许多太平洋岛国中，粮食不安全和营养不良正在上升。作为回应，政府，发展机构和非政府组织正在促进小型水产养殖，以补充沿海渔业提供的鱼类。虽然小型水产养殖在亚洲和非洲的部分地区已被广泛采用，但在太平洋岛屿乡村地区的采用率仍然相对较低。在本文中，我们借鉴了创新扩散理论，并运用分类树分析法来模拟农民的社会经济属性，沟通渠道和创新属性对罗非鱼水产养殖采用的影响。我们将所罗门群岛农村地区的40名罗非鱼水产养殖采用者与40名非采用者进行比较。我们的结果表明，农民的社会经济属性对罗非鱼水产养殖的采用影响最大。罗非鱼水产养殖采用者年龄较大，男性，不以生活为导向，与非采用者相比，其物质生活方式较低。与罗非鱼水产养殖有关的信息最多是通过非正式渠道（包括亲戚和口口相传）分享的，而与正式来源（例如，渔业推广官员，专业农民，小册子和张贴者）相比。最后，虽然罗非鱼水产养殖被认为符合社会文化规范和生计要求，但与其他生计活动相比，其相对优势和可观察性却很低。总体而言，这项研究表明罗非鱼的水产养殖（及其相关利益）并未惠及最贫穷和脆弱的群体（例如 所罗门群岛农村妇女或以生活为导向的家庭）。这些发现表明需要对农民的社会经济属性有深入的了解，从而确保制定战略来支持边缘化群体参与罗非鱼水产养殖并从中受益。该研究还强调，有必要更好地利用非正式和当地适当的交流渠道，以有效地支持罗非鱼水产养殖在太平洋岛屿农村地区的传播。最终，这项研究可以为所罗门群岛政府和其他太平洋岛屿国家的小型水产养殖发展政策提供信息，以支持该部门为农村粮食和营养安全做出贡献。因此，确保制定战略来支持边缘化群体参与罗非鱼水产养殖并从中受益。该研究还强调，有必要更好地利用非正式和当地适当的交流渠道，以有效地支持罗非鱼水产养殖在太平洋岛屿农村地区的传播。最终，这项研究可以为所罗门群岛政府和其他太平洋岛屿国家的小型水产养殖发展政策提供信息，以支持该部门为农村粮食和营养安全做出贡献。因此，确保制定战略来支持边缘化群体参与罗非鱼水产养殖并从中受益。该研究还强调，有必要更好地利用非正式和当地适当的交流渠道，以有效地支持罗非鱼水产养殖在太平洋岛屿农村地区的传播。最终，这项研究可以为所罗门群岛政府和其他太平洋岛屿国家的小型水产养殖发展政策提供信息，以支持该部门为农村粮食和营养安全做出贡献。