|
|
Environment and Development Research Group |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Economic Analysis of
Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)
The seafood industry is at a crossroads. While capture
fisheries are stagnating in volume and decreasing in profitability, they are
also falling short of world demand, as the annual consumption of seafood has
been rising rapidly in the last three decades. Considering the depletion of
natural stocks, aquaculture could be an increasingly important solution for
providing the difference between the demand for seafood and the biomass
available through capture fisheries. However, to continue to grow, the aquaculture
sector needs to develop more innovative, responsible, sustainable and
profitable practices that optimize its efficiency, create diversification,
and ensure the mitigation of the consequences of its activities to maintain
the health of coastal waters. One of the innovative solutions is integrated
multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). This practice combines the cultivation of
fed aquaculture species (e.g.
finfish) with organic extractive aquaculture species (e.g. shellfish) and inorganic extractive aquaculture species (e.g. seaweed) for a balanced approach
to ecosystem management. Through IMTA, some of the food, nutrients and
by-products considered lost in finfish monoculture are recaptured and
converted into food, fertilizers and energy to produce extractive crops of
commercial value. All the components of cultivation have an economic value,
while the environmental costs of fed monoculture are internalized, hence
increasing the overall profitability and resilience of IMTA farms. IMTA has
been developing in There are
currently funded
student opportunities related to this project. Please contact Duncan Knowler for further information. |
||||
last updated: May 2009 |