Environmentally Sustainable Aquaculture: An Eco-Physical Perspective
type: CreativeWork
description: The New Zealand aquaculture industry during the late 1990s and early 2000s experienced a significant and sustained period of growth. Greenshell mussels (Perna canaliculus) are proving to be a popular and valuable cultured species, with large domestic and international markets. Traditionally, these bivalves have been farmed within enclosed embayments and on relatively small scales (~3 Ha). The recent expansion of the industry coupled with the near saturation of existing 'traditional' sites and new culture technologies has led the industry toward alternate environments, notably exposed offshore sites. Initial proposals within the Bay of Plenty have included multiple farms of ~4500 Ha each. This novel approach to shellfish culture created uncertainty with respect to potential environmental impacts, cumulative effects, and sustainable carrying capacities within these exposed open-coast locations. In zoning for Aquaculture Management Areas (AMAs), environmental managers must be informed of each of these aspects to ensure the rational and sustainable use of the coastal-marine space. The overall goal of this study is to determine the potential for environmentally sustainable large-scale offshore mussel culture within the Bay of Plenty marine environment. The long term sustainability of aquaculture development on an open coast is a function of many influences which can vary in both time and space. The benthic environments of the Bay of Plenty exhibit great variability in their ability to assimilate waste inputs from suspended mussel culture; a direct function of the variability in sedimentary environments and benthic habitats within the region. Specifically, silty sediments with low natural organic contents, generally found between 40 and 100 m depths are the most suitable locations for sustainable mussel aquaculture from an environmental impact perspective. Both observations and model predictions indicate productivity potential within the region to be greatest within nerit…
abstract: The New Zealand aquaculture industry during the late 1990s and early 2000s experienced a significant and sustained period of growth. Greenshell mussels (Perna canaliculus) are proving to be a popular and valuable cultured species, with large domestic and international markets. Traditionally, these bivalves have been farmed within enclosed embayments and on relatively small scales (~3 Ha). The recent expansion of the industry coupled with the near saturation of existing 'traditional' sites and new culture technologies has led the industry toward alternate environments, notably exposed offshore sites. Initial proposals within the Bay of Plenty have included multiple farms of ~4500 Ha each. This novel approach to shellfish culture created uncertainty with respect to potential environmental impacts, cumulative effects, and sustainable carrying capacities within these exposed open-coast locations. In zoning for Aquaculture Management Areas (AMAs), environmental managers must be informed of each of these aspects to ensure the rational and sustainable use of the coastal-marine space. The overall goal of this study is to determine the potential for environmentally sustainable large-scale offshore mussel culture within the Bay of Plenty marine environment. The long term sustainability of aquaculture development on an open coast is a function of many influences which can vary in both time and space. The benthic environments of the Bay of Plenty exhibit great variability in their ability to assimilate waste inputs from suspended mussel culture; a direct function of the variability in sedimentary environments and benthic habitats within the region. Specifically, silty sediments with low natural organic contents, generally found between 40 and 100 m depths are the most suitable locations for sustainable mussel aquaculture from an environmental impact perspective. Both observations and model predictions indicate productivity potential within the region to be greatest within nerit…
author: Longdill, Peter C.
keywords: Bay of Plenty, aquaculture, sustainability, mussel, greenshell
date published: 2008
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:30Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Waikato