06/10/2017: Environmental footprint project stands to benefit salmon producers and regulators

 A collaborative project to improve understanding of the effects of salmon farming on the seabed in high-energy waters is underway in Orkney, with co-funding from the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC).

 The three-year project, which sees Cooke Aquaculture Scotland partner with researchers from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) and Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, will inform the environmental monitoring and management of more exposed sites along Scotland’s west coast and the Northern Isles and, potentially, unlock additional capacity.

 Currently, the benthic impacts of salmon farming – the impact of fish waste or uneaten feed on the seabed – are monitored by industry regulator, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), using the DEPOMOD model developed by SAMS, which is based largely on data gathered from sheltered, in-shore sea lochs.

 However, at more exposed sites such as those found off the coast of Orkney and Shetland where this same waste matter is dispersed more widely by strong tides, and where the seabed is harder and rockier, the benthic impacts can differ significantly from those reflected in the current model.

 Says Chris Webb, Environment and Development Manager, at Cooke Aquaculture: “This shortfall in knowledge about dispersive sites is hampering both regulation and production. With better data about the benthic footprint at these sites, salmon producers like Cooke can improve environmental monitoring and compliance, and potentially increase production – both in terms of farming existing sites and developing new sites.” 

 The research team, led by SAMS, will field-sample and analyse data from up to three dispersive sites around Orkney over a complete production cycle. This data will then inform the development of the NewDEPOMOD model and its use in SEPA’s proposed Depositional Zone Regulation (DZR).

 Comments Heather Jones, CEO at SAIC: “With greater knowledge comes better regulation and better farming, and that’s what this project is all about. One of SAIC’s priorities is to unlock additional capacity for aquaculture development, and this project could do exactly that, by providing industry and regulators alike with the knowledge to manage and farm our seas ever more productively, and ever more sustainably.”

 The total project value is £231,907, of which SAIC is contributing £90,460 (39%).

 AWR was established in 2015 by Aker BioMarine, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) and WWF-Norway. The fund’s mission is to ensure a resilient Antarctica through filling critical gaps in ecosystem research and monitoring. Since its inception, AWR has funded in total eight research projects, with three projects receiving funds in 2015, two in 2016 and three in 2017. 

To learn more about the Antarctic Wildlife Research Fund and the research projects, click here. 

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