Long-term seafloor monitoring at an open ocean aquaculture site in the western Gulf of Maine, USA: Development of an adaptive protocol

Grizzle, Raymond E.; Ward, Larry G.; Fredriksson, David W.; Irish, James D.; Langan, Richard; Heinig, Christopher S.; Greene, Jennifer K.; Abeels, Holly; Peter, Chris R.; Eberhardt, Alyson L.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.09.014

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 26 publications

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“…To date, most work on determining the impact of cultivated bivalves on the benthic compartment has concentrated on coastal systems, while the impacts of open-ocean farms remain largely understudied (but see Danovaro et al 2004, Fabi et al 2009. Studies of finfish aquaculture in open-ocean areas generally show less accumulation of organic matter in the sediments and less disturbed benthic communities compared to sheltered and shallower sites (Aguado-Giménez & García-García 2004, Grizzle et al 2014. The benthic impact of bivalve aquaculture in offshore areas is also expected to be less than that in shallow water due to higher current velocities and greater depths (Giles et al 2009, although it may have a larger-scale but more diffuse effect.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low benthic impact of an offshore mussel farm in Îles-de-la-Madeleine, eastern Canada

Lacoste¹,

Drouin²,

Weise³

et al. 2018

Aquacult. Environ. Interact.

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Ensuring sustainable management of the emerging open-ocean aquaculture industry requires an understanding of how this activity interacts with the surrounding environment. We examined the effects of an offshore mussel farm on sedimentation rates, sediment sulfide levels and macro-infaunal communities near Îles-de-la-Madeleine, eastern Canada. The farm had been in production for 6 yr and is located in a deep (19 m) high-energy environment. The impacts were examined for 2 densities of mussels (standard and double) and at different periods of the year. There was no sign of excessive organic enrichment or a clear pattern of a significantly modified benthic environment. However, some organisms likely benefited from the biodeposits and fall-off of mussels (and associated communities), and the farm presumably induced heterogeneity in the distribution of infaunal communities, likely due to variation in the dispersion of biodeposits caused by the structure of the longlines and local hydrodynamics. Annual and interannual variability appear stronger than the influence of the farm, and no detrimental effects are suspected. This study provides baseline information about the limited documented effects of open-ocean bivalve aquaculture on the benthic environment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%