1. AquaSpace Case Study North Sea, Germany: Issues and Tools
The research leading to these results has been undertaken as part of the AquaSpace project (Ecosystem Approach to making Space for Aquaculture, and has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement n°
Horizon 2020

2. National Aquaculture Strategy (NASTAQ) foresees an increase of the production from 5,000t to 40,000t within the existing license areas of blue mussel
Conflict with Wadden Sea National Park
Current offshore wind energy plans cover approx. 30% of the German EEZ
Synergies (co-locations) between offshore wind farms and IMTA systems discussed (European seabass & blue mussel)
Where?
The German case study site refers to the German waters featuring an area of ca km²
Recently, existing license areas of 3.300ha are designated for bottom cultures of blue mussel with a production of round about 5000t/y. Those are located within the Wadden Sea National Park which exhibits numerous restrictions regarding human activities. The national aquaculture strategy foresees an increase of the current blue mussel production from 5000t to 40000t within the existing license areas.
Further, potential co-locations between offshore windfarms and Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) systems are discussed. To date 22% of the current offshore wind development applications, in total covering approx. 30% of the EEZ, have been granted. The enormous spatial expansion of this sector exerts pressure on other human uses such as fisheries. To mitigate this increasing conflict potential, the German planning authority is currently interested in the development of suggestions for potential synergies between different sectors such as offshore wind development and aquaculture
accounting for their native occurrence in the German North Sea, their resistance to hydrodynamic conditions in offshore environments as well as their economic potential for the EU market, the two most promising ones were selected to be analysed within the German case study: European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis).

3. Case study ISSUE
Major topics perceived by the stakeholders as main challenges for German aquaculture:
The plurality and complexity of authorization procedures (disunity between the federal states and the national state as well as in-between the federal states)
Regulations (with contradictions between consumers‘ expectations towards the sustainability of aquaculture products and consumers‘ pay behavior) perceived as too strict (in comparison to e.g. Agriculture)
No competitiveness (price) with imports (difficult marketing for newcomers & lag in modernization)
National institutions concerned with Marine Spatial Planning (incl. Strategies pursued) and the sections affiliated: 
Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI): German MSP; Federal Agency for Shipping and Hydrography (BSH): MSP German EEZ
Lower Saxony: Spatial Planning Concept for the Coast of Lower Saxony (ROKK; 12nm); Schleswig Holstein: Integrated Coastal Zone Management for the Coast of Schleswig Holstein (IKZM; 12nm)
National:
The Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries hosted an Aquaculture Expert Workshop on 14 April 2016 in Hamburg, Germany. The main goal was to identify the key issues linked to an expansion of the aquaculture sector. Bringing together 22 experts and stakeholders from the fields of nature conservation, politics, economy, science and administration the present and future of aquaculture in Germany have been discussed.
Federal State Authorities:

4. Tool used in the case study
AquaSpace CBA tool
Issues addressed/Approach:
The plurality and complexity of authorization procedures
High expectations towards the sustainability of aquaculture products
Lag in modernization
Spatially explicit aquaculture siting to take more informed, evidence-based decisions.
Transparent representation of indicators of sustainability (based on standardised CBA pillars).
CBA application provides new market opportunities by supporting the licensing process and facilitate investments in regional products.

5. Aquaspace tool Which issue is tackled in application of the tool?
The plurality and complexity of authorization procedures; High expectations towards the sustainability of aquaculture products; Lag in modernization
Desired output
Spatially explicit site assessment for regional products (with co-location potential)
Research question
Practical implementation of NASTAQ at small and medium scales: How to expand aquaculture in the German waters?
Scenarios to be tested
Small scale: Coastal (increased production of blue mussel)
Medium scale: Offshore (co-use of wind farms with IMTA: European seabass & blue mussel)
Increase of blue mussel production nearshore (small scale): The expected outcome is a comprehensive evaluation of the production increase scenario including all relevant management aspects which can be provided to the responsible authorities.
Co-location of offshore wind farms and aquaculture (European Sea bass and Blue mussel; medium scale): The expected outcome is a transparent and spatial explicit risk assessment of co-location scenarios which can be provided to the German planning authority to inform the upcoming revision process of the MSP. A holistic assessment of such a management option includes the assessment of inter-sectorial, environmental, economic and socio-cultural effects

6. Relevance to Aquaspace
The North Sea case study scenarios would exhibit on
allocated zones at a small scale (German coastal zone) where production will be intensified
areas of potential compatibility between uses at a large scale (German EEZ)
a broad field of laws and restrictions regarding human activities, which falls under the jurisdiction of the federal states, giving a solid basis for a legal analysis
 The German EEZ case study scenarios would exhibit on both, i) allocated zones at a small scale (German coastal zone) where production will be intensified and ii) areas of potential compatibility between uses at a large scale (German EEZ). Furthermore, the German case study features a broad field of laws and restrictions regarding human activities, which falls under the jurisdiction of the federal states, giving a solid basis for a legal analysis…