1. GIS and Aquaculture: A tool for spatial decision support
By Zosia Bornik
MSc Candidate, RMES

2. Background Rapid growth of aquaculture worldwide In B.C.,
, 13-fold increase in salmon aquaculture
1990s, majority of world trade (fresh and frozen salmon)
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN. 2001
In B.C.,
70% of total national production
68,000 tons/yr
Compare to 23,000 tons/yr wild salmon harvest
Source: Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. 2001

3. Consolidation of firms In B.C.,
Small-scale, national  multinational
In B.C.,
: 135
: 121 (5 : 100)
Major owners
Norway, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada
Source: Naylor et al. 2003

4. Salmon farm siting in B.C.
Mostly prior to
biophysical siting criteria (1987, MAFF)
biophysical suitability study (1989, MAFF)
“Borrowed” guidelines… Source: Galland, D. 2003
Concerns about long-term sustainability
disease, escapes, habitat impacts
Recent (2002) lifting of moratorium on new salmon farms in B.C.
Salmon farm industry predicted to quadruple over the next 10 years!
Source: Gardner and Peterson, 2003

5. Where does GIS fit in? Aquaculture has inherent spatial component
Biophysical and socio-economic characteristics vary from location to location…
What worked in Norway may not work in B.C.!
GIS can provide spatial information for decision-makers
eg. site selection, planning, monitoring

6. Overview of Talk Seven phases of a GIS project
relevance to decision-making in aquaculture
Case study: shellfish and finfish aquaculture management in B.C.
Success
Challenges
Future directions

7. Seven phases in a GIS project
Start
GIS Analysts
Experts
End-users
Nath et al. 2000

8. Identify project requirements Formulate specifications
Develop analytical framework
Classification
Overlay
Connectivity (network) analysis
Hierarchical models
Locate data sources
Organize and manipulate data
Analyze data
Evaluate outputs

9. Case Study: Shellfish and finfish aquaculture in B.C.
Locally relevant
Collaborative implementation of tools and databases
MAFF and LUCO
Potential for decision-support
site selection
long-term management

10. Site Criteria Index 14 biophysical factors  3 subgroups
SCI per subgroup
(species-specific)
Overall SCI: geometric mean
Assign “capability classes” to each potential location
Good, medium, poor, not-advisable

11. Some limitations Resolution of data Use of best available information
Ownership and pricing issues
“Active use to meet decision-support needs of a range of clients”?
BCAS site capability maps (no socio-economic component)

13. Future directions Paradigm shift…
GIS as a component of larger decision support system
Software trends
Internet distribution of data
Increasing data storage capabilities
Mobile data collection devices

14. Future directions cont.
Migration of GIS tools
Academia (theory)  Decision-making (practice)
Training and education
Expand GIS knowledge base to include decision-makers (end-users)
expand scope of applications for GIS experts

15. Conclusions Growing trend: using GIS for natural resource management
GIS and aquaculture: a powerful decision-support tool
Potential to the way in which AQ decisions are made
Siting and monitoring to reflect ecology
Need to expand GIS beyond academic realm

16. End of talk