Contribution of fish farming to the nutrient loading of the Mediterranean
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2005.69n2313Keywords:
Mediterranean, nutrients, cage farming, anthropogenic eutrophicationAbstract
Mediterranean fish farming has grown exponentially during the last 20 years. Although there is little evidence of the impact on the trophy status around fish farms, there are concerns that the release of solute wastes from aquaculture might affect larger scales in the ecosystem by changing the nutrient load. After combining information from various sources on waste production and on nutrient loads, it was concluded that the overall N and P waste from fish farms in the Mediterranean represents less than 5% of the total annual anthropogenic discharge, and the overall annual increase in P and N pools in the Mediterranean, under a production rate of 150000 tons, is less than 0.01%. The proportion of fish farming discharged nutrients was slightly higher in the eastern Mediterranean. A simple model was used to assess the long-term effects of nutrients released from various sources taking into account the water renewal rate in the Mediterranean. We conclude that, in the long term, fish farm waste could cause a 1% increase in nutrient concentrations in contrast to other anthropogenic activities which might double the Mediterranean nutrient pool.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Downloads
Published
2005-06-30
How to Cite
1.
Karakassis I, Pitta P, Krom MD. Contribution of fish farming to the nutrient loading of the Mediterranean. Sci. mar. [Internet]. 2005Jun.30 [cited 2024Jul.22];69(2):313-21. Available from: https://scientiamarina.revistas.csic.es/index.php/scientiamarina/article/view/260
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Copyright (c) 2005 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.