\u00a9 iStock\/MariusLtu There is now an increasing emphasis on developing recirculating systems so that aquaculture can be done on land. These systems enable the activity to be confined and all the parameters in and out of the system to be controlled, thereby minimising the impact on the local environment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nGenetic resources<\/h3>\n The UN\u2019s Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) has highlighted the need for \u2018coherent management and policy systems for the sustainable use and conservation of aquatic genetic resources\u2019, given the rapidly growing field of genetics and biotechnology, and Lisbjerg explained that it is now becoming increasingly recognised that it is not only the species level that is important, but also the genetic pool. \u201cWithin the fisheries sector,\u201d he said, \u201cwe don\u2019t tend to look at, for instance, herring as a species. Rather, we look at stocks of herring that spawn in different areas. As such, we need to protect the different spawning areas for the different stocks, and we also need to ensure that we are not overfishing the stocks in the different places. That is, a quota isn\u2019t made for herring; it is made for herring in certain areas, and that is essentially part of that same issue, in that we know that there are sub-populations with genetic differences, and so we have to ensure that we fish the right places at the right time so that genetic diversity is maintained.\u201d<\/p>\n
For van Hoof, it is important to understand that over the last 30 years there has been a shift from individual stock management to the management of groups of stocks, and the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive actually looks at the entire ecosystem. \u201cWhen this is compared to agriculture,\u201d he explained, \u201cit is clear that all marine policies have an ecosystem conservation perspective at the fundamental level, while those concerning agriculture do not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisbjerg added: \u201cIndeed, and while there may sometimes be a disagreement about what is included in that and how things can be operationalised, at least marine policies have an ecosystem-based approach to management, and that is the approach we should certainly be following.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breeding species is something that Lisbjerg believes will help make aquaculture a much more successful and economically viable business. This is something that has been practised in agriculture for centuries: pigs, sheep, chickens, and cows have been bred by farmers to the point that they are now, genetically speaking, very different to their original ancestors; they grow much faster and much bigger, they produce more milk or meat or eggs, and so on.<\/p>\n
And yet, when it comes to marine organisms, there are still the same varieties that have always been used, and very little has been done to develop them. \u201cThere is huge potential in doing that,\u201d Lisbjerg said. \u201cHowever, we also need to be careful not to make the same mistakes that have been made by our counterparts in agriculture where, for instance, essentially the same few strains of wheat are produced all over the world. This means that if they become susceptible to a certain disease then the global production of this crop is at risk, rather than just a localised strain. We need to avoid that happening in aquaculture by maintaining and utilising the variety in the genetic pool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Climate change<\/h3>\n In the sea as on land, some species are beginning to move north as temperatures grow warmer, meaning that their original habitat becomes hostile. Genetic resources also have a role to play in tackling this, as they may make it possible to develop a better understanding of how aquatic resources will respond to changes in climate, and so which species will begin to move in search of more agreeable temperatures, which species will be able to adapt to their current environment, and so on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are already seeing some fish stocks moving because of the effects of climate change,\u201d Lisbjerg said. \u201cAnd this can be a significant issue for those fish in inland waters, as they can’t move north in the same way as fish in the oceans.<\/p>\n
\u201cNevertheless, it is also an issue in the seas: as some fish species move north because of warming temperatures \u2013 as well as other related issues such as ocean acidification \u2013 the traditional fisheries in some areas may also have to adapt or, indeed, barter new agreements with different countries further north so that they can follow the fish stocks as they move and continue to fish them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fact that we also know very little about the habitats at sea, particularly the sea floor, which sustain the fish and all other invertebrates, is a specific concern because it is unclear whether the environments the fish are moving into are capable of sustaining them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes to aquaculture, of course, the impact of climate change in this sense really depends on what type of system is being used. If it is a nature-based system, then it will be affected quite significantly. But if an on-land recirculation system is being used, which allows the inputs to be controlled, then the effects will be minimal,\u201d van Hoof explained.<\/p>\n
Vulnerability<\/h3>\n Given that very little aquaculture in Europe uses on-land recirculation systems, European aquaculture is potentially more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d van Hoof went on, \u201cthe natural circumstances in places like Asia certainly make them more conducive to (on-land) aquaculture than, for instance, the Netherlands. However, the salmon industry, which has boomed in recent years, often uses a nature-dependent system, especially in places like Norway, where the environment \u2013 fjords and open ocean space \u2013 is suitable. That being said, there is a limit on how many pens there can be in coastal areas, and as the industry grows so does the need for more fish, which is therefore resulting in an increasing shift to on-shore farms. Indeed, many salmon are grown to fingerling size in tanks on land before being put into pens at sea. And we are now seeing that the salmon are being kept for longer periods on land before being transferred, with some companies now developing ways to raise salmon completely in recirculated on-land farms.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are, however, problems in scaling such systems. But when they are overcome, such farms could, in principle, be located anywhere and, as previously discussed, they enable all parameters to be controlled and are almost unaffected by the impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n
The future<\/h3>\n Given the multifaceted challenges and indeed opportunities facing the sector, the European Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Organisations Association (EFARO) will continue to play a crucial role moving forwards. EFARO represents the fisheries and aquaculture research institutes in Europe that provide advice to the different European governments on things like quotas, and it will continue to do so while it simultaneously works to develop the aquaculture industry.<\/p>\n
According to Lisbjerg, this will involve: \u201cExploring how food from the ocean can be made more sustainable; trying to predict the effects of climate change on fish stocks; and attempting to develop adaptive management systems based on newly-available data. We want the aquaculture industry to really unlock its potential by developing recirculating systems, enhancing breeding, ensuring that the right feed is available for the species we want to raise, and by making sure that the species in the aquaculture systems are diversified, and we will continue to aid the industry in every way we can to develop the blue bioeconomy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dennis Lisbjerg<\/strong> \nPresident<\/strong> \nLuc van Hoof<\/strong> \nExecutive Secretary<\/strong> \nEuropean Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Organisations Association (EFARO)<\/strong> \n+31 (0)317 487 218<\/strong> \nefaro@wur.nl<\/strong><\/a> \nwww.efaro.eu<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nPlease note, this article will also appear in the third edition of our <\/strong><\/em>new quarterly publication<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The President and Executive Secretary of the European Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Organisations Association (EFARO), Dennis Lisbjerg and Luc van Hoof, respectively, spoke to The Innovation Platform about some of the challenges facing the blue bioeconomy. With an ever-increasing demand for food at both the European and global levels, the blue bioeconomy, and aquaculture, will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24433,785],"tags":[700,689,529,19351],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Aquaculture and the blue bioeconomy | Innovation News Network<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n