MACAROMOD: A tool to model particulate waste dispersion and benthic impact from offshore sea-cage aquaculture in the Macaronesian region

Riera, Rodrigo; Pérez, Óscar; Cromey, Chris J; Rodríguez, Myriam; Ramos, Eva; Álvarez, Omar; Domínguez, Julián; Monterroso, Óscar; Tuya, Fernando

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.08.006

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The development of large cage culture also has a negative impact that is not wellregulated. The rapid development of offshore mariculture also brings environmental challenges and requests for carrying capacity management [27,28]. The environmental restrictions of sea cage culture prevent the accumulation of particulate pollutants at the sediment level through migration and transportation [29][30][31].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investment Feasibility Analysis of Large Submersible Cage Culture in Taiwan: A Case Study of Snubnose Pompano (Trachinotus anak) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

Lan

Afero

Huang

et al. 2022

Fishes

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Onshore farming for premium aquaculture is under scrutiny and criticism partially due to possible causes of adverse environmental impacts on other resource users and the surrounding environment. The best alternative to preventing or minimizing these impacts is to utilize open seawater by large submersible cage culture. The current operation in Taiwan has demonstrated that the culture operation is technically feasible but economically demanding because of high capital and operating costs. Therefore, this study conducted an economic analysis of the expansion of large submersible cage culture by selecting two premium species of snubnose pompano (Trachinotus anak) and cobia (Rachycentron canadum) and examined the profitability of large submersible cage culture investment. This study found that the current operation of four-unit cages highlighted a negative net present value and internal rate of return with a payback period of over ten and six years, respectively. Large submersible cage culture can be financially profitable when its operation unit expands from 8 to 24 units. Increasing unit cages to eight incurred a gross margin of 17.09%, BCR 1.21, with a payback period of 5.36 years. Expanding the operation to 24-unit cages was a potentially lucrative investment with a gross margin of 18.51%, BCR 1.23, PI 2.15, internal rate of return of 20.84%, and a payback period of 3.55 years. Sensitivity analyses revealed that market price and survival rate significantly impact the profitability of large submersible cage culture. Finally, it is suggested that producers could invest in 8-unit cages and maintaining the survival rate of snubnose pompano and cobia at 80% and 40%, respectively.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investment Feasibility Analysis of Large Submersible Cage Culture in Taiwan: A Case Study of Snubnose Pompano (Trachinotus anak) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

Lan

Afero

Huang

et al. 2022

Fishes

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“…Compared to the deposition rates usually observed under finfish farms, the net solid uptake of sea cucumber (0.645 kg m -2 yr -1 ) is too low to change the ecological status of the sediment in the seabed. On red drum farms (including the monoculture assessed here; see Chary et al (in preparation)), like on other finfish farms (N. Riera et al, 2017), peak deposition rates can range from 15-50 kg solid m -2 yr -1 at sites of concentration. At these sites, adding sea cucumber under fish nets may not reduce waste fluxes significantly, and the impact, as a detectable change in sediment status, may occur from 0.5 kg solid m -2 yr -1 (Chamberlain and Stucchi, 2007;Cromey et al, 2012Cromey et al, , 2002Findlay and Watling, 1997;Hargrave, 1994).…”

Section: Sea Cucumber Bioremediation Potentialmentioning

confidence: 92%

Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra): Assessing bioremediation and life-cycle impacts

et al. 2020

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Environmental sustainability of aquaculture is a complex issue involving effects at local (e.g. benthic deterioration), regional (e.g. eutrophication) and global (e.g. catches for feed production) scales as a consequence of farming operations (e.g. waste emissions) and industrial processes involved in the product value chain. Integrating these effects using a holistic and multi-scale framework is essential to assess the environmental sustainability of innovative production systems such as Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), in which organisms of different trophic levels are co-cultured on the same farm to minimize aquaculture waste. The environmental performances of theoretical production scenarios of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) sea cage monoculture and an open-water IMTA co-culturing of red drum and sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) were assessed with mathematical models at local and global scales. First, the particulate waste bioremediation potential of sea cucumber production was estimated using an individual-based bioenergetic model. Second, environmental impacts of the monoculture and the IMTA systems were estimated and compared using life cycle assessment (LCA), calculated per kg of edible protein and t of product, including uncertainty analysis. Given the current limits to stocking density observed for sea cucumbers, its co-culture in sea cages suspended beneath finfish nets may decrease slightly (by 0.73%) farm net particulate waste load and benthic impact. The monoculture and IMTA showed little difference in impact because of the large difference in production scales of finfish and sea cucumber species. Removing 100% of finfish feces particulate waste requires cultivating sea cucumber at scale similar to that of finfish (1.3 kg of sea cucumber per kg of finfish). Nonetheless, LCA showed trends in IMTA performance: lower eutrophication impact and net primary production use but higher cumulative energy demand and climate change impacts, generating an impact transfer between categories. Intensification of sea cucumber culture could increase local and global environmental benefits, but further research is necessary to design rearing units that can optimize production and/or bioremediation and that can be practically integrated into existing finfish monoculture units. The methodology defined here can be a powerful tool to predict the magnitude of environmental benefits that can be expected from new and complex production systems and to show potential impact transfer between spatial scales. We recommend applying it to other IMTA systems and species associations and including socio-economic criteria to fully assess the sustainability of future seafood production systems. Highlights► A scenario of open-water IMTA integrating suspended sea cucumber culture beneath finfish cages was built. ► Assessment of local and global environmental benefits of IMTA through bioremediation metrics and LCA. ► Sea cucumber extracted only 0.73% of the fish solid waste because of limits to stocking density. ► IMTA and mon...

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“…DEPOMOD, well known for its extensive use and good accuracy for a variety of environments, has been continually improved to meet increasingly specific requirements. Initially developed to assess impacts of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) culture in Scotland, it has been then adapted into different versions (CODMOD, MERAMOD, MACAROMOD, TROPODMOD) for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) farming in the Atlantic Ocean (Cromey et al, 2009); seabream (Sparus aurata) and seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) farming in the Mediterranean Sea (Cromey et al, 2012); milkfish (Chanos chanos) farming in the Philippines (Aquapark, 2015;White and Lopez, 2017); meagre (Argyrosomus regius) farming in Macaronesia (archipelagos in the North-East Atlantic) (Riera et al, 2017), and even shellfish farming in the North Atlantic (Weise et al, 2009). Recently, a new version of the model (NewDEPOMOD) was released (Black et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Doing so requires using mechanistic particle-dispersion models and exploratory scenario analysis. In the past decade, several studies applied such models to a variety of hydrodynamic and farming conditions and/or scenarios (Cromey et al, 2009(Cromey et al, , 2012Lee et al, 2016;Brigolin et al, 2017;Riera et al, 2017;White and Lopez, 2017). However, few have related differences in predicted and/or observed impacts to these varying factors (Keeley et al, 2013;Chang et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scenarios of fish waste deposition at the sub-lagoon scale: a modelling approach for aquaculture zoning and site selection

Chary

Callier

Covès

et al. 2021

ICES Journal of Marine Science

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Spatial planning, including zoning and site-selection steps, is necessary to determine locations that minimize environmental impacts of aquaculture and respect ecosystem carrying capacities. This study aimed to analyse potential benthic waste deposition in a broad range of fish farming situations to facilitate zoning. To this end, we simulated waste dispersion for 54 aquaculture scenarios combining three red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) farm types (Small, Medium, and Large) based on real farm characteristics and 36 sites with contrasting hydrodynamics in Mayotte’s North-East Lagoon. Key forcing variables and parameters of the particle-dispersion model for farms (layout and solid waste fluxes), species (feed- and faeces-settling velocities) and sites (depth and barotropic currents) were obtained. From the outputs of the 54 simulations, relationships between hydrodynamic regimes and deposition rates, area of influence and distance of influence of the farm were analysed. Critical limits of current intensity that reduced deposition rate below selected deposition thresholds were identified. For instance, to prevent deposition rates greater than 12 kg solids m−2 year−1, the mean current intensity should exceed 10.2 and 6.8 cm s−1 for Medium and Large farms, respectively. The study confirmed that production level is not the main factor that influences deposition rates; instead, management of the entire farm (cage position, distance between cages) must be considered to predict impacts more accurately and guide site selection.

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MACAROMOD: A tool to model particulate waste dispersion and benthic impact from offshore sea-cage aquaculture in the Macaronesian region

Cited by 20 publications

References 46 publications

Investment Feasibility Analysis of Large Submersible Cage Culture in Taiwan: A Case Study of Snubnose Pompano (Trachinotus anak) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

Investment Feasibility Analysis of Large Submersible Cage Culture in Taiwan: A Case Study of Snubnose Pompano (Trachinotus anak) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra): Assessing bioremediation and life-cycle impacts

Scenarios of fish waste deposition at the sub-lagoon scale: a modelling approach for aquaculture zoning and site selection

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