Environmental Regulation of Aquaculture - The European Experience Seen from a Danish Perspective Karl Iver Dahl-Madsen DHI Water & Environment to FAME Jun-05, Esbjerg

A Typical NGO View Currently, the Norwegian (Chilean?!) fish-farming industry is not sustainable. Along with the production of salmon and trout come great environmental challenges. The most serious one being over-fishing of stocks used for fishmeal and fishoil to produce fish feed. Other dangers includes discharge of vast amounts of nutrients, chemicals and metals, introduction of escaped salmonoids to Norwegian watercourses, parasites and diseases transferred to the wild stocks, and a threat of inducing gene modified fish to Norwegian waters Draft Position Document from WWF-Norway, January 2002 Written by Maren Esmark,

Food Production & Environment All food production impact environment – including aquaculture But the proportions: N-Loss from agriculture in DK: t/yr From Aquaculture: 1000 t/yr And Fisheries Catching 1/3 of all fish production in the North Sea is hardly low impact

The Salmon Farming Image Could be Better – But Can Be Changed The Industry (and public servants) needs to: Take this issue very seriously Continue decoupling impact from production Be proportionate (and very correct) in its description of impacts: All food production impacts Be publicly proud of itself (not arrogant though) and visible Good Environmental Management is not just a scientific and legal issue, but mainly about attitudes It can go very wrong: The Case of DenmarkThe Case of Denmark NGO’s & Bureaucracy may kill you

European Regulation The political and (bureaucratic) reflex reaction, when identifying a new problem: Make Command & Control regulation Smother the Industry in Red Tape and hope that waiting out for years will make the industry quit The future is incentives for the industry to make its decoupling and a partnership with authorities and NGO’s

Norway: Modelling On-growing Fish Farms Monitoring Balance: No deterioration Monitoring Intensity & Expertise: after 3 degrees of influence 3 impacted zones: Local, Intermediate, Regional T.C. Telfer and M.C.M. Beveridge1 Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling,

Scottish Regulation 3. Siting Zones: 1. No Future 2. Limited 3. Feasible Discharge Consent Hydrographic & Sediment information Used in Dispersion Models T.C. Telfer and M.C.M. Beveridge1 Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling,

In Greece S. E. Papoutsoglou Agricultural University of Athens

Conclusions on the Comparison Complexity Diversity, and then enforcement: Is this a fair playing ground? Too much emphasis on analysis and control And too little on incentives for solving the problem

What Is Proposed in Denmark: 1 ”Blue” Zone for Sea Cage Farming North Sea not relevant yet No New Farms outside blue zone Existing to be gradually moved No Ceiling for production Nitrogen will be limiting though: So year with existing technology

Regulation System Discharge permits for nutrients, etc No Food / Production limits! Good practices asked on feeding efficiency etc. expected Controlled by massbalances: Loss=Food_In + Stocking – Fish_Harvested And then VAT control! Cleaner Technology: In a dialogue between the fish farmer, a continued decoupling Reactor Fish Tank

Monitoring Plan For New Farms (which will all be from 1000 to 5000 tons/yr) a thorough EIA has to be done Mapping of the benthic conditions Model simulations of ecological impact For small farms: monitoring to be discontinued Big farms: Monitoring until steady state If major changes: monitoring starts again

Monitoring Methods Fluctuations: Not practically and economically feasible to monitor in water Instead: Modeling Benthic Surveys And Biomonitoring: in DK, Ulva Lactusa

Modern Environmental Management of Aquaculture Recognizes That all food productions impact ecology That aquaculture is ecological efficient Env. impact from aquaculture is generally well known Env. Management should be simple And monitoring kept to a minimum Freed resources to be used for decoupling Simulated algae in Sea of Chiloe

A Global Lesson for Aquaculture This issue is political, and needs political decisions Irrational stops for seafarming can happen anywhere in the world Science & Technology can produce the desired decoupling

The End