Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
offshore areas of the North Sea triggered the idea of a combination of wind turbines
with installations for extensive shellfish and seaweed aquaculture (Buck
2002
,
2004
). A combined design of fish cages in the foundation of the turbines in addition
to the extractive components of IMTA systems was discussed (McVey and Buck
2008
). Offshore wind farms provide an appropriately sized area for farming that is
free of shipping traffic. At the same time the infrastructure for regular service
support is readily available. Such sites provide an ideal opportunity for devising
and implementing a multiple-use concept (Buck et al.
2004
; Michler-Cieluch
2009
).
Some experimental-scale operations have shown the feasibility of offshore
macroalgal farming (for review, see e.g., Buck et al.
2008
). The focus of those
systems was placed upon the technical design needed to withstand hydrodynamic
forces and investigations on cultivation techniques to avoid dislodgement of
laminarians (Buck and Buchholz
2004
,
2005
). Ebeling, Griffin, and Buck (unpub-
lished data) were the first to calculate the economic potential of a seaweed farm
(
Saccharina latissima
) within a planned wind farm off the coast of Woods Hole
(Massachusetts, USA) in Nantucket Sound and found it being beneficial on a
large scale.
22.2 Socioeconomic Aspects
Traditionally, the academic community has tended to approach aquaculture primar-
ily from technological and environmental perspectives (Marra
2005
). However, it
has been recognized that aquaculture increasingly generates direct socioeconomic
benefits through the supply of highly nutritious foods and other commercially
valuable products, providing jobs and creating incomes. For example, the FAO
reports for the Philippines that seaweed farming is currently the largest and most
productive form of livelihood among the coastal population of the Philippines. In
2004, more than 116,000 families consisting of more than one million individuals
were farming more than 58,000 ha of seaweed (
FAO 2005-2011c
). Enough
and affordable manpower to maintain the farms is an indispensable prerequisite.
Personnel on all levels of skills are required. The benefits for the well-being of
coastal communities are reflected in the finding of a recent case study on a South
African IMTA farm of abalone and seaweed presented by Nobre et al. (
2010
). In
this study, the impact of direct permanent employment within the South African
aquaculture industry on local communities was exemplified: The selected
communities were characterized by high unemployment (85.7%), with more than
50% of the labor force being unskilled and semiskilled. It could be shown that
employment of a high number of unskilled and semiskilled personnel in the
aquaculture sector had a large local impact in previously disadvantaged coastal
communities, where any increase in employment is valuable (Nobre et al.
2010
).
This is particularly relevant where unemployment is not only an economic issue but
also a sociopolitical concern.
