Accessible deposition modelling tools for improved environmental planning

In the Faroe Islands, the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry started in 1966 and today accounts for nearly 50 % of the export value from the islands (Statistics Faroe Islands, www.hagstova.fo), with farms occupying almost every Faroese fjord. This increased production raises concerns about the environmental impacts and long-term sustainability of this rapidly growing industry ranging from disease transference and genetic interactions between farmed and wild organisms to direct and indirect impact of fish farm wastes on the surrounding benthic ecosystems.

Fish farm waste comprises particulate and dissolved fractions of both organic and inorganic effluents, including but not limited to waste feed, faeces and other metabolic by-products released to the surrounding aquatic marine environment. The particulate fraction of the waste, Particulate Organic Matter (POM), is considered the largest source of environmental impact on the seabed making it an important precursor for organic enrichment of the benthic habitat. This organic enrichment beneath a farm is often referred to as the POM footprint. An accurate representation of this POM footprint is essential to assess the benthic impact of a fish farm.

The overall objective of this project is thus to improve the environmental planning toolbox for industry and government, by making validated deposition models more accessible for stakeholders with limited modelling and programming experience. Ensuring that the models can be run using the best available measured or modelled environmental data.

This project is funded by Granskingarráðið, Umhvørvismálaráðið, Umhvørvisstovan with in-kind funding from Firum, Vikmar, and Hiddenfjord