RESEARCH - Research Summary

Environmental Integrity Theme

Research Summary

The Canadian aquaculture industry is a significant food production sector that has an important place in the global seafood supply and demand market, and in the economy of coastal and rural communities. Due to geographic reality, market conditions, environmental and water multiple user issues, the scope for expansion in terms of available aquatic space is relatively limited. Achieving and maintaining sustainability, not only from environmental perspective, but also from economic, social and technical perspectives, have become key issues for the industry.

This project proposes an innovative solution through the development of balanced integrated aquaculture systems by combining, in the right proportions, the cultivation of salmon with that of mussels and seaweeds, taking into consideration site specificity, operational limits, and food safety guidelines and regulations. Presently, the salmon culture industry is operating in a commodity market with relatively low profit margins. This project will allow the salmon aquaculture industry to diversify its operations in both an environmental and economic direction. This research is focused on increasing the long-term profitability per cultivation unit by optimising feeding schedules and improving feed conversion per cultivation unit (not per species in isolation as done in monoculture), as the wastes of one component (fish) are captured and converted into fertilizer or food for the other components (seaweeds and mussels).

Research to-date has demonstrated that integrated multi-species aquaculture is not only biologically feasible but that it also contributes to:

1. A more beneficial use/conversion of food and energy;
   
2. Environmental services through bioremediation and compliance with upcoming discharge/effluent regulations;
   
3. Improved knowledge of the incremental costs and economics of scale of operations; and
   
4. A better understanding of the implications of a diversified production of marine crops on cash flow and environmental stability, and on minimizing risks and public concern.
   
   

Researchers have been successful in accelerating the full life cycle of seaweeds, documenting mussel feeding and biofiltration rates, demonstrating that mussels and kelps benefit significantly in growth when grown in close proximity to salmon, verifying the absence of faecal coliforms and therapeutant residues in mussel and kelp tissue, and monitoring environmental indicators at production and reference sites. A survey of the social acceptability of integrated aquaculture is under way. Having made the biological case, the next step is to move research from the ‘pilot’ to the ‘scale up’ stage. This will require some current federal and provincial regulations and policies to change.

The research aims to provide convincing evidence (tools, solutions and constraints) at the environmental, economic and social levels, of the benefits of integrated aquaculture practices for the industry and government regulators to consider adopting, and to change some public perceptions regarding the acceptability of aquaculture so that it develops to its full sustainable potential within a broader coastal management framework.

Network Investigators

Thierry Chopin, Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, NB
Bruce MacDonald, Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, NB
Neil Ridler, Department of Social Science, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, NB
Shawn Robinson, St. Andrews Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, NB
Katsuji Haya, St. Andrews Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, NB
Frederick Page, St. Andrews Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, NB

Publications

Bates, C.R., Chopin, T., and Saunders, G.W., 2004. Taxonomic distinctness and seaweed community responses to environmental stress in the Bay of Fundy, NB, Canada. Marine Ecology Progress Series. (Accepted)

Chopin, T. 2003. Could the aquaculture of shellfish and seaweed work with fish plant effluents as it works with finfish aquaculture? In: Fish Plant Effluents: a Workshop on Sustainability: 59- 61. Morry, C., Chadwick, M., Courtenay, S., and Mallet, P. (Eds.). Canadian Industry Report. Fisheries and. Aquatic. Sciences. 271: viii + 106 p.

Chopin, T., and Bastarache, S. 2004. Mariculture in Canada: finfish, shellfish and seaweed. World Aquaculture. (Accepted)

Dowd, M., Martin, J.L., LeGresley, M.M., Hanke, A., and Page, F.H. 2003. Interannual variability in a plankton time series. Environmetrics 14: 73-86.

Dowd, M., Martin, J.L., LeGresley, M.M., Hanke, A., and Page, F.H. 2004. A statistical method for the robust detection of interannual changes in plankton abundance: analysis of monitoring data from the Bay of Fundy, Canada. Journal of Plankton Research. (Accepted)

Kraemer, G.P., Carmona, R., Chopin, T., Neefus, C., Tang, X., and Yarish, C. 2004. Evaluation of the bioremediation potential of several species of the red alga Porphyra using short-term measurements of nitrogen uptake. Journal of Applied Phycology. (Accepted)

MacDonald, B.A., and Nodwell, L.M. 2003. A portable and practical method to monitor bivalve feeding behaviour in the field using time-lapse video technology. Journal of Shellfish Research 22: 209-212.

Neori, A., Chopin, T., Troell, M., Buschmann, A.H., Kraemer, G.P., Halling, C., Shpigel, M., and Yarish, C. 2004. Integrated aquaculture: rationale, evolution and state of the art emphasizing seaweed biofiltration in modern mariculture. Aquaculture 231: 361-391.

Sephton, D.H., Haya, K., Martin, J.L., Boyer, G.L., and Chopin, T. 2003. Seasonal dynamics of Alexandrium fundyense and PSP toxins content in Mytilus edulis in an integrated aquaculture system. Canadian Technical Report Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2498: 53.

Sephton, D.H., Haya, K., Martin, J.L., Boyer, G.L., and Chopin, T. 2003. Monitoring of therapeutants and phycotoxins in kelp (Laminaria saccharina) and mussel (Mytilus edulis) cultured in proximity to salmon (Salmo salar) in an integrated system. Canadian Technical Report Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2510: 138.

Troell, M., Halling, C., Neori, A., Chopin, T., Buschmann, A.H., Kautsky, N., and Yarish, C. 2003. Integrated mariculture: asking the right questions. Aquaculture 226: 69-90.

Troell, M., Neori, A., Chopin, T., and Buschmann, A.H. 2004. Biological wastewater treatment in aquaculture - more than just bacteria. World Aquaculture. (Accepted)

Book chapters:

Chopin, T., Yarish, C., and Sharp, G., 2004. Beyond the monospecific approach to animal aquaculture… the light of integrated aquaculture. In: Ecological and Genetic Implications of Aquaculture Activities. T. Bert (Ed.). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. (In Press)

Video:

Aquaculture - An Old New Concept - An Old Recycling Project for Renewed Sustainability