Report of the ad hoc Study Group on "Environmental Impact of Mariculture"

Following the adopted Resolution CR 1985/2:37 (73rd Statutory Meeting of ICES), CR 1986/2:36 (74th Statutory Meeting) an ad hoc Study Group on the "Environmental Impacts of Mariculture" was established in order to: (a) delineate the dimensions of the problem, and (b) recommend a course of action which will lead to a development of criteria and to a standard system of monitoring and reporting." Membership to this ad hoc ICES Study Group was assigned during 1986 with experts nominated from 11 member countries. The Study Group worked by correspondence and met in Hamburg (Federal Republic of Germany) between April 7 and 9, 1987 to prepare the report. The environmental issues addressed include (a) our present understanding of the effects of mariculture on natural microbial communities and on the possible spread of pathogens, (b) the possible changes in the natural populations of marine algae (phytoplankton and macroalgae), (c) the influence of sedimentation on the benthos, (d) the use of chemicals in mariculture, (e) site selection criteria to minimize environmental effects, and (f) the state of the art in developing predictive models of mariculture impacts. Further chapters discuss environmental regulations (as applied to mariculture situations) in various member countries, the need for improved feeds and feeding strategies, and the possible beneficial effects of mariculture. Finally, a number of recommendations are formulated, related to research needs to assess and minimize environmental impacts. Considering the increasing environmental issues that are emerging with the expansion of the mariculture industry, the establishment of an ICES Working Group on "Environmental Impact of Mariculture" is proposed and the terms of references for such a Working Group are presented. Country reports are presented in Appendix 1 and an extended literature list is included in Appendix 3.