The aquaculture industry is at the forefront of European ‘Blue Growth’, and it has been identified by the EU as one of five key industries that have the potential to deliver sustainable jobs to people in Europe, and in feeding a growing population. Deficiencies in licensing are contributing to a slow growth of the European aquaculture industry. This challenge inspired the EC-funded Horizon 2020 project, TAPAS (Tools for Assessment and Planning of Aquaculture Sustainability). Led by the University of Stirling, it is a collaboration between 15 European partner institutions that aims to address key sustainability challenges in the European aquaculture industry.
Effective licensing and regulation require industry and planners have access to good guidance and support through provision of environmental modelling tools for site selection, assessment of carrying capacity, and prediction of the fate of nutrient and chemical wastes to aid better decision-making. A range of species including salmon, trout, sea bass, sea bream, carp, oysters and mussels were used as case studies to create and test tools and models for regulation. In addition, more efficient, in-situ and real-time monitoring technologies, earth observation methodologies, and vehicles for automated inspection, have been developed to aid data application and provision.
A key outcome is the Aquaculture Toolbox (www.aquaculturetoolbox.eu) a decision support system hosting tools and guidance for regulation, which is easy to use for a range of end-users. It is expected that the Toolbox will improve the efficiency and transparency of aquaculture licensing in Europe.
Overall the TAPAS project successfully created policy recommendations and decision support techniques to augment aquaculture governance in Europe, resulting in an enhanced understanding of the relationship between aquaculture and the environment through effective regulatory and environmental management to improve economic, societal and environmental benefits and relieve licensing bottlenecks.
