The decline of mussel aquaculture in the European Union: causes, economic impacts and opportunities

Avdelas, Lamprakis; Avdic-Mravlje, Edo; Marques, A. C. Borges; Cano, Suzana; Capelle, Jacob J.; Carvalho, Natacha; Cozzolino, Maria; Dennis, John M.; Ellis, Tim; Polanco, José Manuel Fernández; Guillén, Jordi; Lasner, Tobias; Bihan, Véronique Le; Llorente, Ignacio; Mol, Arie; Nicheva, Simona; Nielsen, Rasmus; Oostenbrugge, H. van; Villasante, Sebastián; Visnic, Svjetlana; Zhelev, Kolyo; Asche, Frank

doi:10.1111/raq.12465

Cited by 122 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…In addition to the increasing human demands for seafood, the recent observations on declining aquaculture yields of mussels at a European scale [ 59 ] and the growing shortage in juvenile oyster supply for aquaculture at a global scale [ 60 ] further stresses the need for the exploration of the potential of the self-sustaining and sustainable cultivation of coastal shellfish. Maximizing yields and minimizing (environmental) costs have to be targeted when selecting the best locations, developing the best design, and optimizing the operational procedures of inshore marine shellfish farms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Engineering for the Optimisation of the Land-Based Marine Aquaculture of Coastal Shellfish

Philippart

Dethmers

Molen

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Whilst the demand for nutritious and sustainable seafood is increasing, fishing yields are declining due to overfishing and climate change. The inshore aquaculture of marine molluscs—e.g., the suspension-feeding cockle Cerastoderma edule for NW Europe—might be an alternative practice if cost-effective and nature-based technology enhances growth and survival. Our inshore experiments revealed that increasing the seawater residence time resulted in improved water quality. The reduction in sediment loads and stimulation of pelagic microalgal growth resulted in enhanced shell growth and meat content of the wild cockles seeded into the system. Shorter residence times resulted also in an increase in benthic microalgae, but the concurrent increase in silt content of the sediment appeared to hamper effective filtration by cockles. The growth conditions (with respect to the water and sediment quality) for the inshore cultivation of cockles can indeed be improved by means of ecological engineering, suggesting that the inshore aquaculture of marine shellfish can provide sustainable food and income for coastal communities, in particular when the shellfish farms are located in low-lying salinized coastal areas where common agriculture practices are no longer profitable. The involvement of the shellfishery industry was and will be crucial for studying and understanding the complex practice of cockle cultivation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Engineering for the Optimisation of the Land-Based Marine Aquaculture of Coastal Shellfish

Philippart

Dethmers

Molen

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…Shellfish production is an important industry across the European Atlantic Arc, providing both healthy food and important economic support for remote family and small businesses in rural coastal areas (Munro and Wallace, 2018;Mardones et al, 2020). The distribution and effects of HABs in combination with other environmental and economic threats has reduced European shellfish production over the last two decades (Avdelas et al, 2021). HABs are sometimes associated with large-scale marine fish mortality events but are more frequently associated with various types of shellfish poisoning in humans (Sanseverino et al, 2016;Bresnan et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Status of Forecasting Toxic Harmful Algae for the North-East Atlantic Shellfish Aquaculture Industry

et al. 2021

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Across the European Atlantic Arc (Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Spain, and Portugal) the shellfish aquaculture industry is dominated by the production of mussels, followed by oysters and clams. A range of spatially and temporally variable harmful algal bloom species (HABs) impact the industry through their production of biotoxins that accumulate and concentrate in shellfish flesh, which negatively impact the health of consumers through consumption. Regulatory monitoring of harmful cells in the water column and toxin concentrations within shellfish flesh are currently the main means of warning of elevated toxin events in bivalves, with harvesting being suspended when toxicity is elevated above EU regulatory limits. However, while such an approach is generally successful in safeguarding human health, it does not provide the early warning that is needed to support business planning and harvesting by the aquaculture industry. To address this issue, a proliferation of web portals have been developed to make monitoring data widely accessible. These systems are now transitioning from “nowcasts” to operational Early Warning Systems (EWS) to better mitigate against HAB-generated harmful effects. To achieve this, EWS are incorporating a range of environmental data parameters and developing varied forecasting approaches. For example, EWS are increasingly utilizing satellite data and the results of oceanographic modeling to identify and predict the behavior of HABs. Modeling demonstrates that some HABs can be advected significant distances before impacting aquaculture sites. Traffic light indices are being developed to provide users with an easily interpreted assessment of HAB and biotoxin risk, and expert interpretation of these multiple data streams is being used to assess risk into the future. Proof-of-concept EWS are being developed to combine model information with in situ data, in some cases using machine learning-based approaches. This article: (1) reviews HAB and biotoxin issues relevant to shellfish aquaculture in the European Atlantic Arc (Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Spain, and Portugal; (2) evaluates the current status of HAB events and EWS in the region; and (3) evaluates the potential of further improving these EWS though multi-disciplinary approaches combining heterogeneous sources of information.

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“…Since 2014, MMEs of blue mussel stocks have been reported on a nearly yearly basis from the west coast of France (Dégremont et al 2019). Mussels are an important aquaculture product in France and tools for reducing the economic consequence are limited (Avdelas et al 2021). Despite the extensive research, a single explanation has not yet been found.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations on recent mass mortality events of marine mussels in the Oosterschelde, the Netherlands

et al. 2021

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Two mass mortality events (MMEs) of marine mussels that took place in the Oosterschelde, the Netherlands—the first in 2015/2016 and the second in 2019—both severely affected mussel production. The current study presents our observations on the onset and course of both MMEs and discusses probable putative causes. The two MMEs displayed a distinct course of events. The first event started in November 2015 with high mortality rates on culture plots, which remained elevated until the autumn of 2016. Approximately 40–50% of mussels from all age classes were lost on culture plots and 100% were lost from wild seed beds. The second event started in April–May 2019 and continued until the end of July, with mortality ranging from 20 to 100%, again from all age classes. Culture areas other than the Oosterschelde and other shellfish species were not affected. Histological and bacteriological screening produced no evidence for common pathogens or pollution as a primary mortality factor and there is no indication of abnormal environmental conditions preceding or during the events. We hypothesize that a cumulation of stressors results in weakening of the mussels and in elevated mortality rates. In 2019, this cumulation of stressors could be high spawning activities (an unusual high concentration of mussel larvae was found in April) that resulted in very low condition from April to June, a Phaeocystis bloom in April to May that prevented a quick recovery, and the development of granulocytomas that were found in up to 60 to 70% of live mussels as a consequence of cumulative stress. Although no (single) putative causes could be identified, this study contributes to the knowledge on MMEs in mussels and fits in a wider and disturbing trend on mortality events in shellfish.

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The decline of mussel aquaculture in the European Union: causes, economic impacts and opportunities

Cited by 122 publications

References 109 publications

Ecological Engineering for the Optimisation of the Land-Based Marine Aquaculture of Coastal Shellfish

Ecological Engineering for the Optimisation of the Land-Based Marine Aquaculture of Coastal Shellfish

Current Status of Forecasting Toxic Harmful Algae for the North-East Atlantic Shellfish Aquaculture Industry

Observations on recent mass mortality events of marine mussels in the Oosterschelde, the Netherlands

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