90
T. Dempster and P. Sanchez-Jerez
may be more important to the economics of the region (Staresinic and Popovi
2004). In such instances, political decisions on the use of coastal space may be the
only way that aquaculture may gain access to coastal waters.
Once an aquaculture installation is in place, regulatory measures are required to
ensure that ongoing interactions between users of the coastal zone are ecologically
sustainable. Certain environmental and spatial interactions among users are likely
to vary over time or will not be evident until after a farm is established, such as
changes in water quality characteristics or how commercial and recreational fisheries will interact with aquaculture activities (Dempster et al. 2005). Management
measures may therefore need to be location-specific and adaptive.
3.3 Competition for Physical Space Between Aquaculture,
Shipping, Tourism and Recreation
3.3.1 Shipping
Among the chief users of coastal waters is shipping, whether it is for commercial,
recreational or defence related purposes. While the use of coastal space by ships in
any particular area is relatively temporary, it nevertheless places considerable
restrictions on the placement of aquaculture installations. Commercial shipping
lanes and their immediate vicinity, together with military shipping areas, almost
completely exclude aquaculture due to the risks posed by surface-based structures
as navigational hazards. Numerous ships transport hazardous products, such as
chemical and petrol-derived products, which affect the coastal environment
adversely when accidental spillage occurs (Davis 1993) and pose environmental
and health risks to coastal aquaculture. For example, the break-up of the oil tanker
Prestige off the Galician coast of Spain in 2002 caused 9 million Euros of lost
mussel production in the year following the accident (Garza-Gil et al. 2005).
Recreational sailing and boating activities also challenge aquaculture for coastal
space, particularly in areas where both operate from local ports. Space in the
immediate sea areas surrounding ports is sought after by both aquaculture and recreational boating activities due to ease of access. Most sea-cage fish farms along
the relatively featureless coastline of south-eastern Spain are sited less than 5 km
from the coast and operate out of ports that are popular for recreational boating.
3.3.2 Tourism and Coastal Aesthetics
Coastal tourism is growing in popularity across Europe and as such, mariculture
and tourist uses will compete strongly for coastal space. For instance, countries that
border the Mediterranean are particularly popular tourist destinations. Of the
T. Dempster and P. Sanchez-Jerez
may be more important to the economics of the region (Staresinic and Popovi
2004). In such instances, political decisions on the use of coastal space may be the
only way that aquaculture may gain access to coastal waters.
Once an aquaculture installation is in place, regulatory measures are required to
ensure that ongoing interactions between users of the coastal zone are ecologically
sustainable. Certain environmental and spatial interactions among users are likely
to vary over time or will not be evident until after a farm is established, such as
changes in water quality characteristics or how commercial and recreational fisheries will interact with aquaculture activities (Dempster et al. 2005). Management
measures may therefore need to be location-specific and adaptive.
3.3 Competition for Physical Space Between Aquaculture,
Shipping, Tourism and Recreation
3.3.1 Shipping
Among the chief users of coastal waters is shipping, whether it is for commercial,
recreational or defence related purposes. While the use of coastal space by ships in
any particular area is relatively temporary, it nevertheless places considerable
restrictions on the placement of aquaculture installations. Commercial shipping
lanes and their immediate vicinity, together with military shipping areas, almost
completely exclude aquaculture due to the risks posed by surface-based structures
as navigational hazards. Numerous ships transport hazardous products, such as
chemical and petrol-derived products, which affect the coastal environment
adversely when accidental spillage occurs (Davis 1993) and pose environmental
and health risks to coastal aquaculture. For example, the break-up of the oil tanker
Prestige off the Galician coast of Spain in 2002 caused 9 million Euros of lost
mussel production in the year following the accident (Garza-Gil et al. 2005).
Recreational sailing and boating activities also challenge aquaculture for coastal
space, particularly in areas where both operate from local ports. Space in the
immediate sea areas surrounding ports is sought after by both aquaculture and recreational boating activities due to ease of access. Most sea-cage fish farms along
the relatively featureless coastline of south-eastern Spain are sited less than 5 km
from the coast and operate out of ports that are popular for recreational boating.
3.3.2 Tourism and Coastal Aesthetics
Coastal tourism is growing in popularity across Europe and as such, mariculture
and tourist uses will compete strongly for coastal space. For instance, countries that
border the Mediterranean are particularly popular tourist destinations. Of the