Benthic artificial reefs as a means to reduce the environmental effects of cod mariculture in Skutulsfjörður, Iceland

By: Israel D., Gallo C., Angel D.L.
Published in: Marine Biodiversity
SDGs : SDG 14  |  Units: Marine Sciences  | Time: 2017 |  Link
Description: Artificial reefs (AR) have been deployed below commercial fish farms in tropical, subtropical and temperate marine locat ions in an effort to reduce some of the negative effects of aquaculture, and this study describes an AR deployment at a boreal site. This study examined the development and succession of two benthic communities on artificial reefs in the Icelandic fjord, Skutulsfjörður. Two plastic, triangle-shaped, porous artificial reefs were moored on the seafloor: a) below a cod farm and b) at a nearby reference site, and were monitored for 4 months, on a bi-weekly basis by SCUBA divers. Monitoring included both visual observations, mainly of the motile biota, and subsampling of the fouling community by removing pieces of plastic mesh that were attached to the reefs for this purpose. Diverse biological communities developed on the artificial reefs at both fish farm and reference sites; however, overall species richness, abundance and sessile species cover were consistently greater at the farm site. Although the biota recorded were typical boreal species, many of the same taxa observed in warmer waters, in similar studies, were found on these reefs. Artificial reefs are one of many options that may be considered to enhance the sustainability of coastal aquaculture, and we suggest that: a) ARs should be studied over the course of a year or more, and b) efforts should be made to consider how we may harvest the biota associated with the ARs for commercial use. © 2016, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.