Scenarios of fish waste deposition at the sub-lagoon scale: a modelling approach for aquaculture zoning and site selection

Abstract

Abstract Spatial planning, including zoning and site-selection steps, is necessary to determine locations that minimize environmental impacts of aquaculture and respect ecosystem carrying capacities. This study aimed to analyse potential benthic waste deposition in a broad range of fish farming situations to facilitate zoning. To this end, we simulated waste dispersion for 54 aquaculture scenarios combining three red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) farm types (Small, Medium, and Large) based on real farm characteristics and 36 sites with contrasting hydrodynamics in Mayotte’s North-East Lagoon. Key forcing variables and parameters of the particle-dispersion model for farms (layout and solid waste fluxes), species (feed- and faeces-settling velocities) and sites (depth and barotropic currents) were obtained. From the outputs of the 54 simulations, relationships between hydrodynamic regimes and deposition rates, area of influence and distance of influence of the farm were analysed. Critical limits of current intensity that reduced deposition rate below selected deposition thresholds were identified. For instance, to prevent deposition rates greater than 12 kg solids m−2 year−1, the mean current intensity should exceed 10.2 and 6.8 cm s−1 for Medium and Large farms, respectively. The study confirmed that production level is not the main factor that influences deposition rates; instead, management of the entire farm (cage position, distance between cages) must be considered to predict impacts more accurately and guide site selection.