Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
At the same time most/all of the systems components should be of commercial
value supplementing each other in reaching an acceptable profit for stakeholders
and environment. Between January 2010 and December 2014, about 250 people
will be involved in 14 projects systematically investigating the various aspects of
IMTA from nutrient plumes to microbial interactions, detritivores (such as
polychaetes and echinoderms), bivalves, fish parasites, and seaweeds (including
Saccharina latissima,
formerly
Laminaria saccharina
,
Alaria esculenta
,
Palmaria
palmata
, and
Ulva
spp.) to infrastructure components, ecosystem modeling, and
social implications for coastal communities. With the insights gained it will be
easier to promote a sustainable and vibrant aquaculture industry in Canada and
probably other temperate regions of the world.
22.1.3.3 Offshore Aquaculture
Aquaculture is continuously expanding in coastal seas and ashore, comprising
farming in marine and brackish water environments (FAO
2010a
,
b
). However,
coastal waters host a highly competitive group of uses such as commercial
shipping, areas exclusively reserved for the navy, extraction or disposal of sand,
oil exploration and exploitation, as well as pipelines, cables, wind farms, nature
reserves, and other marine and coastal protected areas. Recreational activities and
fisheries are additional interests that deserve attention. This massive utilization of
marine areas leads to stakeholder conflicts (Buck et al.
2004
; Langan et al.
2006
;
Rensel et al.
2006
). Additionally, farming activities may also generate negative
environmental impacts on coastal ecosystems at local up to regional scales (e.g.,
Buck and Krause
2012
), thus leaving little room for further expansion of modern
coastal aquaculture systems. Locating aquaculture activities further offshore
appears as a viable option to avoid stakeholder conflicts and to reduce environmen-
tal impacts to the coast (Corbin
2007
). The term “offshore” within the context of
aquaculture was defined by Ryan (
2005
) and is based on the moving of farm
installations from nearshore sheltered environments to more exposed environments,
which are commonly described as “high energy environment”.
Following Troell et al. (
2012
) and North (
1987
) considerable controversy has
emerged over the proper development of offshore aquaculture, and its actual
advantages over existing nearshore aquaculture. In general, many of the challenges
for offshore aquaculture engineering involve adaptations of farm installation
designs and operation protocols to a variety of physical factors, such as currents
and wave actions: The robustness of the aquaculture systems to withstand harsh
oceanographic conditions is one challenge, while the difficulties in anchoring and/
or submerging structures in deep water is another. Major shipping routes have to be
considered as well as migration routes of marine mammals. Logistic difficulties of
transport and the operation and maintenance of offshore platforms of any farming
enterprise must be evaluated.
Due to the scarcity of space even in the open ocean island territories or countries
with relatively short coastlines, the concept of “multiple use” needs to be addressed.
Germany is an example where the plans for the massive expansion of wind farms in
