AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH TO AQUACULTURE, IMPLICATIONS FOR THE TECHNOLOGY OF PRODUCTION, PROCESSING AND PRODUCT QUALITY

Seaweeds constitute the largest single contributor to the current production of aquaculture products and, with a growing human population and corresponding demand for food security, they will play an increasingly important role in meeting the world's food requirements.   Seaweeds also supply a suite of ecosystem goods and services and nonfood related products that contribute to the value of marine plant aquaculture.  In addition to food per se, seaweeds are a source of biomass for fuel production, specialty biochemicals, fertilizers, animal feeds, nutrient scavengers, pH regulation, carbon sequestration and potential habitat for marine animals.  As seaweed production scales up, however, there are both technological and ecological challenges that must be balanced to maximize benefits and minimize negative impacts.  With any intensive culture system there are both anticipated and unforeseen issues that will come into play.  In the case of seaweed, issues of scale become important if one is interested in, for example, the production of biomass for fuel; then there is substantial waste from such endeavors.  Intensive monocultures can also promote disease, and in the case of seaweeds eutrophication could compromise the surrounding waters.  Further, the concept of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture depends on balancing nutrient flux at a farm scale by understanding the specific plant/animal interactions.  This presentation will briefly review the obstacles and advantages of developing seaweed aquaculture, with a focus in the US, from an ecosystem perspective.