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T. Dempster and P. Sanchez-Jerez
and elsewhere, including the Marennes-Oléron Bay region in France (Goulletquer
and Le Moine 2002), the Balk Sea (Guneroglu et al. 2005), the Canary Islands
(Pérez et al. 2005), the Moroccan coast (Arid et al. 2005), and Scotland (Ross et al.
1993; Nath et al. 2000).
Nath et al. (2000) reviewed existing case studies of the application of GIS
for spatial decision support in aquaculture. Basic steps for a GIS study comprise:
(1) identifying the project requirements, (2) formulation specifications, (3) developing
the analytical framework, (4) locating data sources, (5) organizing and manipulating
data for input, (6) analysing data, and (7) verifying outcomes and evaluating outputs.
Once an activity has been modelled and quantified, it will invariably have some
potential to conflict with other users of the space or resource. This calls for trade-off
decisions to be made so that different activities can coexist. These decisions typically require consideration of economic, environmental and social ramifications of
alternative space use practices. The “layers” of information taken into account for
selection of sites for potential aquaculture developments include environmental data
(water currents, habitats distribution, bathymetry, coastline, primary production),
restricted areas (marine protected areas, important areas for the protection of species,
sewage outfalls, navigation, ports) and potential user competition (fisheries grounds,
leisure zones, other fish and shellfish farms). Some GIS packages have included
decision support tools, for example, multi-objective land allocation (MOLA) and
multi-dimensional decision space (MDCHOICE) tools in IDRISI software (Nath
et al. 2000).
3.9 Conclusions
Integration of aquaculture into coastal space entails both siting installations in physical
space in relation to the existing network of coastal users, such as shipping, fishing,
recreational activities and other industry, and ensuring that the extent of aquaculture
does not lead to widespread changes to coastal ecosystems. As aquaculture is a recent
entrant into the competition for coastal space in many European countries, successful
integration into the social and economic aspects of coastal regions will require
management strategies that enable coexistence of users. Where the competition for
space is particularly intense, political decisions, which simultaneously seek to minimize both environmental impacts and user conflict, may be the only mechanism to
allocate space to new aquaculture installations. From an ecological perspective, better
integration of aquaculture into European coastal space so that ecological carrying
capacities are not exceeded requires knowledge-based management of the interaction
of ecological impacts of aquaculture with those of other coastal users, particularly
concerning nutrient loading, and modification to biodiversity and species that are
important to fisheries. Geographical information systems (GIS) are proven tools for
natural resource management and space planning and should be used extensively
for planning aquaculture’s integration into European coastal areas.
T. Dempster and P. Sanchez-Jerez
and elsewhere, including the Marennes-Oléron Bay region in France (Goulletquer
and Le Moine 2002), the Balk Sea (Guneroglu et al. 2005), the Canary Islands
(Pérez et al. 2005), the Moroccan coast (Arid et al. 2005), and Scotland (Ross et al.
1993; Nath et al. 2000).
Nath et al. (2000) reviewed existing case studies of the application of GIS
for spatial decision support in aquaculture. Basic steps for a GIS study comprise:
(1) identifying the project requirements, (2) formulation specifications, (3) developing
the analytical framework, (4) locating data sources, (5) organizing and manipulating
data for input, (6) analysing data, and (7) verifying outcomes and evaluating outputs.
Once an activity has been modelled and quantified, it will invariably have some
potential to conflict with other users of the space or resource. This calls for trade-off
decisions to be made so that different activities can coexist. These decisions typically require consideration of economic, environmental and social ramifications of
alternative space use practices. The “layers” of information taken into account for
selection of sites for potential aquaculture developments include environmental data
(water currents, habitats distribution, bathymetry, coastline, primary production),
restricted areas (marine protected areas, important areas for the protection of species,
sewage outfalls, navigation, ports) and potential user competition (fisheries grounds,
leisure zones, other fish and shellfish farms). Some GIS packages have included
decision support tools, for example, multi-objective land allocation (MOLA) and
multi-dimensional decision space (MDCHOICE) tools in IDRISI software (Nath
et al. 2000).
3.9 Conclusions
Integration of aquaculture into coastal space entails both siting installations in physical
space in relation to the existing network of coastal users, such as shipping, fishing,
recreational activities and other industry, and ensuring that the extent of aquaculture
does not lead to widespread changes to coastal ecosystems. As aquaculture is a recent
entrant into the competition for coastal space in many European countries, successful
integration into the social and economic aspects of coastal regions will require
management strategies that enable coexistence of users. Where the competition for
space is particularly intense, political decisions, which simultaneously seek to minimize both environmental impacts and user conflict, may be the only mechanism to
allocate space to new aquaculture installations. From an ecological perspective, better
integration of aquaculture into European coastal space so that ecological carrying
capacities are not exceeded requires knowledge-based management of the interaction
of ecological impacts of aquaculture with those of other coastal users, particularly
concerning nutrient loading, and modification to biodiversity and species that are
important to fisheries. Geographical information systems (GIS) are proven tools for
natural resource management and space planning and should be used extensively
for planning aquaculture’s integration into European coastal areas.