MACCAM – Innovative Applied Carrying Capacity Models of Marine Aquaculture
Pleamar program
Description:
Second phase of the MIMECCA project of the CA2017 of the Pleamar Programme. The MACCAM project arises from the need to validate the model of the protocol for the determination of carrying capacity, applicable to cage culture facilities in the Mediterranean, which resulted from the MIMECCA project, where after an exhaustive process of study and evaluation based on the state of the art, analysis of environmental public information, socio-economic surveys, workshops and interviews with the sector and the competent administrations, applying the Delphi method, a theoretical model was defined. However, every model must be corroborated with a posteriori evaluation to adjust it to reality. The project “Innovative Applied Models of Carrying Capacity in Marine Aquaculture”, MACCAM, will carry out a simulation in real environments of the carrying capacity models developed in the MIMECCA project for their novel application in the planning and management of fish aquaculture activity in the Mediterranean arc. To this end, it is foreseen:
- To know the applicability of the load capacity models in different production scenarios through practical simulations of the theoretical models.
- To develop proven load capacity models for cage culture facilities in the Mediterranean.
- To present the carrying capacity models to promote their integration into strategic planning policies for aquaculture in Spain and their sectoral dissemination.
To this end, the project will consist of 3 activities. The first of them will seek to know the applicability of the models in real environments through the development of a methodological proposal for monitoring the effects of the production of aquaculture facilities, and its subsequent simulation of the model based on the 3 components of aquaculture carrying capacity. After this analysis process, an adjustment of the carrying capacity models will be carried out and their application will be defined in planning and management policies of the sector, based on a strategy of validation and transfer of results in collaboration with sectoral organizations and agents of interest. Finally, an important dissemination of the project, its implications and results will be carried out, thus increasing the scope of the results.
Line of action:
Marine ecosystemsStatus:
FinalizadoExecution date:
2019General: To validate carrying capacity models for their application in the planning and management of fish aquaculture activity in Spain.
Specific objectives:
1. To know the applicability of the load capacity models in different production scenarios through practical simulations of the theoretical models.
2. To develop proven load capacity models for cage culture facilities in the Mediterranean.
3. To present the carrying capacity models to promote their integration into strategic planning policies for aquaculture in Spain and their sectoral dissemination.
The development of the MACCAM project has made it possible to obtain a model for the calculation of the carrying capacity of floating nurseries in the Mediterranean arc that is easy to apply, available to all those involved in the activity. On the one hand, production companies have a mathematical formula with which to design their facilities from the point of view of sustainable development, which brings together the relevant factors for their representatives and other actors in the sector. In order for a floating nursery facility to be as productive as possible, a compromise must be reached between the technical-productive, environmental and socio-economic aspects that define it.
On the other hand, it helps the administration to develop productive planning strategies in maritime-terrestrial public domain spaces, all from a sustainable point of view. In short, it is a model characterised by its ability to adapt to new regulatory, productive, environmental and social requirements. The implementation of the MIMECCA model for the determination of the carrying capacity would allow, through practices applicable in the management of the facility or the sector, to reduce the impact of the activity on the environment, optimize the productivity of the company, while improving the social environment and the local economy, to make it sustainable in the long term.
MACCAM – Innovative Applied Carrying Capacity Models of Marine Aquaculture
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