Study Backs Offshore Aquaculture Expansion

Offshore finfish farming operations can have “minimal\r\nimpacts to the surrounding waters”, according to the results of a new study.

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The conclusion follows the investigation into the waters\r\nfrom Open Blue’s cobia\r\nproduction site off the coast of Panama, by scientists at the University of\r\nMiami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

The researchers collected water samples at one upstream and\r\nthree downstream locations from the submerged fish cages to investigate if\r\nthere were significant or cumulative impacts resulting from locating fish farms\r\noffshore. Sediment samples were also collected to evaluate the effects of the aquaculture\r\nfacility on the seafloor.

The data revealed that only small amounts of nutrients are\r\nreleased from the farm and demonstrated that – when appropriately sited –\r\n“commercial scale offshore aquaculture installations have the potential to\r\noperate in a way that produces a relatively small pollution footprint. The\r\nresults also showed that any impacts from offshore fish farming are minimal\r\ncompared to all other forms of animal protein production for human\r\nconsumption.”

“We must produce 30 million tonnes of seafood to keep up\r\nwith human population growth and increasing consumption of seafood – and the\r\nopen ocean appears to be the best if not the only environment that would allow\r\nfor this expansion,” said the study’s lead author, Dr Aaron Welch, who conducted\r\nthe study while a graduate student at the UM Rosenstiel School and UM Abess\r\nCenter.

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“Showing that this can be done without incurring in a large\r\nfootprint is something we will all benefit from. It’s a very relevant milestone\r\nto assist in developing offshore aquaculture in the Unites States,” he added.

Open Blue’s site includes 22 prism-shaped cages and is\r\nlocated 13 km off the coast of Panama in waters from 55 to 65 metres deep,\r\nproducing more than 1,400 tonnes of fish per year.

“This study is of great interest to all stakeholders\r\nconcerned with the expansion of offshore aquaculture in the United States and\r\nother countries,” said the study’s co-author Daniel Benetti, a professor in the Department or Marine Ecosystems and\r\nSociety and director of aquaculture at the UM Rosenstiel School. “To our knowledge,\r\nthis is the first report of its kind from a commercially scaled aquaculture\r\nfacility utilizing offshore submersible cage technologies.”

The study was conducted to evaluate the impacts of organic\r\nand inorganic pollution from offshore fish farming, one of the major concerns\r\nraised in relation to commercial aquaculture production.

“This research shows that seafood production for human\r\nconsumption can be produced in the offshore environment with relatively low\r\nenvironmental impact compared to other production methods,” said Benetti.

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The study, titled “The nutrient footprint of a\r\nsubmerged-cage offshore aquaculture facility located in the tropical\r\nCaribbean,” was recently published in the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. The study’s authors\r\ninclude: Aaron W Welch, Sharein El Tourky, Zachary Daugherty, Gary Hitchcock\r\nand Daniel Benetti of the UM Rosenstiel School and Angela N Knapp of Florida\r\nState University.

Source : The Fish Site