advantage will be granted to the candidates who will include that option in their
proposal. Four major advantages of culturing seaweed in the windmill park of
Borsele have been identified: uptake of nutrients and reduction of eutrophication,
attenuation of waves and hence less erosion of the windmill foundations, contribution to fish resources, and increased regional support through job creation.
2.6.6 France
In France, longline systems are used offshore along the Mediterranean and the
Atlantic coasts. The Mediterranean farms have been in use since the late 1970s and
are all fully submerged and produce up to 10,000 t/year, although this has
decreased in recent years due to predation and water quality. The techniques and
equipment are fully described by Danioux et al. (2000). Offshore long lines have
been used since the mid-nineties on the Atlantic coast and the coast of Charentais,
Pertuis Breton and Pertuis Antioch. It is believed that there are several hundred
lines in this region. Production is around 5000 t from these offshore long lines.
Expansion will depend on access to new space and improvement in techniques
(Ögmundarson et al. 2011).
The project “WINSEAFUEL” was funded by the French National Research
Agency and was one of the first French projects with an offshore multi-use aspect
(Lasserre and Delgenès 2012). The aim of the project was to produce biomethane
and bioproducts from macroalgae cultivated in the open sea next to offshore wind
farm facilities (Langlois et al. 2012). A life cycle assessment for the production of
biogas from offshore-cultivated macroalgal feedstock in a European framework was
carried out, as well as production optimization from hatchery phase to offshore
(Marfaing 2014).
In the North of France, at the border with Belgium, mussels are being produced
in Dunkerque (North Sea) using the longline system. Ropes and anchors are made
extra strong to cope with the local environmental conditions. The project started in
2006 and obtained its first good results in 2009. An annual production of 1000 t is
obtained nowadays. They are produced and commercialized by the fishermen’s
cooperative “Cooperative maritime de Dunkerque” as “Les Moules de Dunkerque”
or “Les Moules du Banc de Flandre”.
2.6.7 United Kingdom
In 2014, Kames Fish Farming Ltd. installed two offshore seaweed longline trials for
research commissioned by the Bangor University’s School of Ocean Science and
the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS), respectively (KFM 2014). The
design consists of a small submerged rope grid supported on foam filled cushion
buoys and oceanic mussel headline floats. The location of the first longline at
46
B.H. Buck et al.
proposal. Four major advantages of culturing seaweed in the windmill park of
Borsele have been identified: uptake of nutrients and reduction of eutrophication,
attenuation of waves and hence less erosion of the windmill foundations, contribution to fish resources, and increased regional support through job creation.
2.6.6 France
In France, longline systems are used offshore along the Mediterranean and the
Atlantic coasts. The Mediterranean farms have been in use since the late 1970s and
are all fully submerged and produce up to 10,000 t/year, although this has
decreased in recent years due to predation and water quality. The techniques and
equipment are fully described by Danioux et al. (2000). Offshore long lines have
been used since the mid-nineties on the Atlantic coast and the coast of Charentais,
Pertuis Breton and Pertuis Antioch. It is believed that there are several hundred
lines in this region. Production is around 5000 t from these offshore long lines.
Expansion will depend on access to new space and improvement in techniques
(Ögmundarson et al. 2011).
The project “WINSEAFUEL” was funded by the French National Research
Agency and was one of the first French projects with an offshore multi-use aspect
(Lasserre and Delgenès 2012). The aim of the project was to produce biomethane
and bioproducts from macroalgae cultivated in the open sea next to offshore wind
farm facilities (Langlois et al. 2012). A life cycle assessment for the production of
biogas from offshore-cultivated macroalgal feedstock in a European framework was
carried out, as well as production optimization from hatchery phase to offshore
(Marfaing 2014).
In the North of France, at the border with Belgium, mussels are being produced
in Dunkerque (North Sea) using the longline system. Ropes and anchors are made
extra strong to cope with the local environmental conditions. The project started in
2006 and obtained its first good results in 2009. An annual production of 1000 t is
obtained nowadays. They are produced and commercialized by the fishermen’s
cooperative “Cooperative maritime de Dunkerque” as “Les Moules de Dunkerque”
or “Les Moules du Banc de Flandre”.
2.6.7 United Kingdom
In 2014, Kames Fish Farming Ltd. installed two offshore seaweed longline trials for
research commissioned by the Bangor University’s School of Ocean Science and
the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS), respectively (KFM 2014). The
design consists of a small submerged rope grid supported on foam filled cushion
buoys and oceanic mussel headline floats. The location of the first longline at
46
B.H. Buck et al.