Acronym SUSTAIN-AQUA
Category
Aquaculture
Title SUSTAINable AQUAculture in the North: identifying thresholds, indicators and tools for future growth Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator Nigel Brian Keeley Coordinator email nigel.brian.keeley@hi.no
Coordinator institution
IMR - Institute of Marine Research (Norway)
Institutions involved
Akvaplan-niva - Akvaplan-niva AS (Norway) ,
NA - Cawthron Institute (New Zealand) ,
DFO - Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Canada) ,
NGU - Geological Survey of Norway (Norway) ,
Start year 2017 End year 2020 Funding (€) € 879,705 Website https://prosjektbanken.forskningsradet.no/project/FORISS/267829?Kilde=FORISS&distribution=Ar&chart=bar&calcType=funding&Sprak=no&sortBy=date&sortOrder=desc&resultCount=30&offset=60&TemaEmne.2=Marin+forurensning+inkl.+milj%C3%B8gifter Summary "Norwegian salmon farming is expected to grow in the future, and it is expected that the growth will take place especially in Northern Norway. Both for ecological and economic reasons, and for the farming industry's reputation, it will be critical that this growth is sustainable and that it is managed effectively. The benthic environment in the northern areas probably mainly consists of hard bottom and mixed bottom. In contrast to soft bottoms, there is little knowledge of hard bottom habitats, and we have no good monitoring methods for the effects of fish farming on this type of habitat. There is a lack of further basic knowledge about the different species and their distribution along the coast. There is therefore a need to increase our knowledge of interactions between organic emissions from fish farming and hard and mixed bottom habitats in Northern Norway. In the SustainAqua project, the environmental tolerance of some of the dominant and potentially significant marine organisms in these habitats was studied (eg sponges, sea anemones, corals etc.). The aim was to identify alternative biological indicators for ecosystem effects in order to develop a method for environmental monitoring of such bottom types. Two different methods were used. One was based on visual indicators, the other used new next-generation sequencing techniques (environmental DNA), which were used both to examine the thin layer of sediment that often lies on hard bottoms, and to study changes in the microbiota of specific species as a consequence of organic influence. The latter was achieved by placing four species at different distances from a fish farm. The project also aimed to increase the possibility of predicting the areal spread of impacts, so that ecological effects on sensitive or valuable habitats can be avoided. Therefore, new model input parameters were developed to improve and test two of Norway's leading deposition models. In the project, epifauna communities in the area around Altafjorden were characterized and a new cost-effective method was developed for quantitative video examination of benthic communities. The results were used to describe the ecological response of organic emissions and to identify a number of indicator species. Four epifauna species (Hormathia digitata, Craniella sp., Drifa florida, Polymastia sp.) had potentially usable stress indicators that can be used to detect effects on the individuals before they disappear. An innovative substrate-independent benthic sampler was developed to be able to collect material directly from hard bottoms. This makes it possible to measure organic deposits on hard bottoms and is a significant step towards solving the problem of impact on hard bottoms. Experiments were carried out with decomposed salmon faeces and feed spills and this generated new parameters for the deposition models that had been developed for the project's three central fish farming facilities.
Achieved effects:
1. Epifauna habitats in northern Norway are now better described and we have some new information about their relative sensitivities to farm waste, which is critical for future farm planning, monitoring and management. 2. The visual survey technique coupled with the SIBS sampling device and potential sublethal effects indicators provides contribute significantly towards solving 'the hard bottom problem? with regards to fish farm environmental monitoring. 3. Knowledge of the distribution and sensitivity of the soft coral Duva florida has been used to inform assessment of a new farm situated in close proximity to a similar colony. The Environment Directorate have sought advice from these findings and how they should undertake a similar monitoring exercise. 4. Knowledge, skills and technology obtained from the video survey work has been integral in the development of the new Alternative monitoring of hard and mixed bottoms at marine aquaculture facilities guide."
Keywords
Benthic communities;
Indicators;
Pollution;
Fish;
Sustainability;
Cage aquaculture;
Sponge;
Microbial communities;
Monitoring;
Technology;
Corals;
Open sea aquaculture;
Environmental impact;
Aquaculture management;
Salmon;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
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