Description: Aquaculture development in Europe, while critical to the European Union (EU) Blue Growth strategy, has stagnated over the past decades due largely to high competition for space in the nearshore coastal zone among potential uses and the lack of clear priorities, policy, and planning at EU and national scales. Broad Marine Spatial Planning, including the designation of Allocated Zones for Aquaculture, requires spatial data at the corresponding broad spatial scale, which has not been readily available, as well as model projections to assess potential impacts of climate change. Here, daily chlorophyll-a, water temperature, salinity, and current speed outputs from a marine ecosystem model encompassing the coastal North East Atlantic, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea (the pan-European POLCOMS-ERSEM model configuration) are used to drive a Dynamic Energy Budget growth model of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas). Areas broadly suitable for growth were identified using threshold tolerance range masking applied using the model variables mentioned above, as well as bathymetry data. Oyster growth time series were transformed into simplified indicators that are meaningful to the industry (e.g., time to market weight) and mapped. In addition to early-century indicator maps, modelling and mapping were also carried out for two contrasting late-century climate change projections, following representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5. Areas found to have good oyster growth potential now and into the future were further assessed in terms of their climate robustness (i.e., where oyster growth predictions are comparable between different future climate scenarios). Several areas within Europe were highlighted as priority areas for the development of offshore Pacific oyster cultivation, including coastal waters along the French Atlantic, the southern North Sea, and western Scotland and Ireland. A large potential growth hot spot was also identified along northwestern Africa, associated with a cool, productive upwelling coastal zone. The framework proposed here offers a flexible approach to include a large range of ecological input data, climate and ecosystem model scenarios, aquaculture-related models, species of interest, indicator types, and tolerance thresholds. Such information is suggested to be included in more extensive spatial assessments and planning, along with further socioeconomic and environmental data.

Description: The investigation and application of a wide range of dietary supplements, such as probiotics, prebiotic and other additives, are increasingly popular in aquaculture research and practice. To date few studies have attempted to quantify the value of commercially available additives in improving growth performance of juvenile turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) and in compensating potential growth reduction resulting from high levels of plant protein (PP) in carnivorous fish diets. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of different active ingredients in diet additives on turbot. I) Five diets supplemented with (1) yeast b-glucan and mannan oligosaccharides (GM), (2) alginic acid from brown algal extracts (AC), (3) yeast nucleotides and RNA (NR), (4) potassium diformate (PDF) and (5) bacteria strains Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis (BS), containing fish meal (FM) as the only protein source, were fed to turbots (initial weight 48.8 g ± 5.2 g) over 112 days. II) Four diets supplemented with (1) GM, (2) AC, (3) NR and (4) BS, containing soy protein concentrate (SPC) and wheat gluten (WG) as a partial replacement of FM, were fed to turbots (initial weight 95.8 g ± 17.7 g) over 84 days. A non-supplemented FM diet (exp. I) and an FM- and PP-based diet (exp. II), respectively, were used as control diets. Diet additives did not promote additional weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR), daily feed intake (DFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in turbot fed FM- or PP-based diets (p 〉 0.05) when compared to isocaloric control diets in both experiments. Growth of turbots fed the high FM content control diet (II) was significantly higher than all other treatments (p 〈 0.01). Body proximate composition, condition factor (K) and liver index (HSI) remained unaffected by additive supplementation in fish fed either FM or PP diets (p 〉 0.05). Results indicate that reported benefits for specific diet additives cannot be assumed to function or applied across species boundaries and age classes. In addition, dietary additive application may not be economically valid for larger animals and/or animals not exposed to specific culture-related stressors. The benefits of popular additives to high value species such as S. maximus remains to be tested under specific immune or physical stress situations and at crucial larval and early juvenile stages.

Description: Technological solutions to increase the efficiency of spatial use can play a key role as part of the toolbox of marine spatial planning. Co-locating of multiple ocean uses can potentially increase the production and enjoyment of the ocean while limiting impacts. However, a basic precondition for co-locating or coproduction is that all parties' private incentives are aligned. We use a case study of co-locating an offshore wind energy firm and a mussel aquaculture firm to assess the incentive structure for cooperation and to demonstrate that social benefits from co-locating exist. We find that there is room for cooperation between firms based on potential cost sharing and that the demonstrated social benefits may arise without government intervention.