3 Aquaculture and Coastal Space Management
109
Wright and Bartlett (2000) suggested that geographical information systems (GIS)
are relevant to this task, and have the potential to contribute to coastal management
in a number of ways. In the case of aquaculture, the use of GIS not only provides
a visual inventory of the physical, biological and economical characteristics of the
environment, it also allows rational management without complex and timeconsuming manipulations. Despite this, the use of GIS to integrate aquaculture
into coastal space has been modest.
The Economics and Social Committee of the EU (2001/C155/05) recommend
that development of ICZM should integrate long-term changes, be an interactive
and dynamic process, and incorporate all factors to facilitate development planning. Monitoring should be done concomitantly with information transfer, and
facilitated by technologies such as remote sensing and GIS. Aquaculture should be
incorporated into ICZM at a European level though the Common Fisheries Policy,
where different activities such as fishing and aquaculture can be integrated for
sustainable development.
Geographical Information Systems are excellent tools for both monitoring and
management applications. GIS allows organisation of the existing users and interactions in the coastal zone and can help integrate the development of future
activities in relation to the existing users, thereby reducing competition for space
and potentially limiting environmental impacts. GIS can be used to relate the
spatial variability of oceanographic and ecological processes to recognise spatial
patterns along a determined area. To model the particulate waste distribution
around aquaculture facilities, GIS can be used at a single location or a regional
scale. For example, Hassen and Prou (2001) used GIS procedures to assess nutrient loading related to aquaculture activities along the Atlantic coast of France.
Modelling of input and distribution of wastes and discharges is a cost-effective
tool that can assist in predicting impacts and thereby aid decision- makers.
Particulate waste distribution models can be developed to predict the total particulate organic carbon lost from a fish farm as uneaten food and faecal material by
mass balance and can also estimate the distribution of particles (Gowen et al.
1989; Perez et al. 2002). Prediction of the distribution of carbon on sediments
using GIS reflected real sediment characteristics for farmed Atlantic salmon using
GIS combined with a spreadsheet (Pérez et al. 2002). Such models can be applied
to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), designing monitoring programmes,
site selection, continuing farm management and development of future scenarios
(GESAMP 1996; Pérez et al. 2002).
GIS systems can also organize and present spatial data in a way that allows
effective environmental management planning. For example, regulatory agencies
should decide the location of aquaculture facilities in coastal space, with detailed
knowledge of biophysical and socio-economic characteristics, to best integrate
aquaculture among other users. ICZM should be based on GIS to deal with the
complexity of interactions and the enormous quantity of data involved. Sources of
necessary data are extremely diverse, and include remote sensing data, field measurements, meteorological data, and socio-economic parameters. Examples of siting
aquaculture based on decisions made using GIS exist for areas throughout Europe
109
Wright and Bartlett (2000) suggested that geographical information systems (GIS)
are relevant to this task, and have the potential to contribute to coastal management
in a number of ways. In the case of aquaculture, the use of GIS not only provides
a visual inventory of the physical, biological and economical characteristics of the
environment, it also allows rational management without complex and timeconsuming manipulations. Despite this, the use of GIS to integrate aquaculture
into coastal space has been modest.
The Economics and Social Committee of the EU (2001/C155/05) recommend
that development of ICZM should integrate long-term changes, be an interactive
and dynamic process, and incorporate all factors to facilitate development planning. Monitoring should be done concomitantly with information transfer, and
facilitated by technologies such as remote sensing and GIS. Aquaculture should be
incorporated into ICZM at a European level though the Common Fisheries Policy,
where different activities such as fishing and aquaculture can be integrated for
sustainable development.
Geographical Information Systems are excellent tools for both monitoring and
management applications. GIS allows organisation of the existing users and interactions in the coastal zone and can help integrate the development of future
activities in relation to the existing users, thereby reducing competition for space
and potentially limiting environmental impacts. GIS can be used to relate the
spatial variability of oceanographic and ecological processes to recognise spatial
patterns along a determined area. To model the particulate waste distribution
around aquaculture facilities, GIS can be used at a single location or a regional
scale. For example, Hassen and Prou (2001) used GIS procedures to assess nutrient loading related to aquaculture activities along the Atlantic coast of France.
Modelling of input and distribution of wastes and discharges is a cost-effective
tool that can assist in predicting impacts and thereby aid decision- makers.
Particulate waste distribution models can be developed to predict the total particulate organic carbon lost from a fish farm as uneaten food and faecal material by
mass balance and can also estimate the distribution of particles (Gowen et al.
1989; Perez et al. 2002). Prediction of the distribution of carbon on sediments
using GIS reflected real sediment characteristics for farmed Atlantic salmon using
GIS combined with a spreadsheet (Pérez et al. 2002). Such models can be applied
to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), designing monitoring programmes,
site selection, continuing farm management and development of future scenarios
(GESAMP 1996; Pérez et al. 2002).
GIS systems can also organize and present spatial data in a way that allows
effective environmental management planning. For example, regulatory agencies
should decide the location of aquaculture facilities in coastal space, with detailed
knowledge of biophysical and socio-economic characteristics, to best integrate
aquaculture among other users. ICZM should be based on GIS to deal with the
complexity of interactions and the enormous quantity of data involved. Sources of
necessary data are extremely diverse, and include remote sensing data, field measurements, meteorological data, and socio-economic parameters. Examples of siting
aquaculture based on decisions made using GIS exist for areas throughout Europe