FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 549

James McDaid Kapetsky
FAO consultant
Wilmington, North Carolina
United States of America

José Aguilar-Manjarrez
Aquaculture Officer
Aquaculture Branch
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
Rome, Italy

and

Jeff Jenness
FAO consultant
Flagstaff, Arizona
United States of America



Download Full Report - 30 Mb       Download ZIP version - 27 Mb

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Rome, 2013

ABSTRACT

Kapetsky, J.M., Aguilar-Manjarrez, J. & Jenness , J. 2013.
A global assessment of potential for offshore mariculture development from a spatial perspective.
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 549. Rome, FAO. 181 pp.

This publication was produced in recognition that there is a growing need to increasingly transfer land-based/coastal aquaculture production systems further offshore as a result of the expected increases in human population, competition for access to land and clean water needed to increase the availability of fish and fishery products much needed for human consumption. Mariculture, in particular offshore, offers significant opportunities for sustainable food production and development of many coastal communities, especially in regions where the availability of land, near shore space and freshwater are limited. This publication provides, for the first time, measures of the status and potential for offshore mariculture development from a spatial perspective that are comprehensive of all maritime nations and comparable among them. It also identifies nations that are not yet practicing mariculture that have a high offshore potential. The underlying purpose of this document is to stimulate interest for detailed assessments of offshore mariculture potential at national levels. Remote sensing for the sustainable development of offshore mariculture is included as Annex 3 to this publication in recognition of the importance of remote sensing as a source of data for spatial analyses to assess potential for offshore mariculture, and also for zoning and site selection as well as for operational remote sensing to aid mariculture management.

CONTENTS

Preparation of this document Abstract Acknowledgements Abbreviations and acronyms Executive summary		[325 Kb]
1.	Introduction	[2 Mb]
2.	Status of mariculture from a spatial perspective	[1.6 Mb]
3.	Exclusive economic zones as spatial frameworks for offshore mariculture development	[607 Kb]
4.	Potential for offshore mariculture development	[5 Mb]
5.	Comparisons and verifications for offshore mariculture potential	[5 Mb]
6.	Discussion and conclusions	[1.5 Mb]
REFERENCES		[85 Kb]
ANNEXES
1.	Overview of the spatial analyses and data sources	[4.6 Mb]
2.	Grid-based model: days of grow-out to a harvestable weight for Atlantic salmon among four salmon-producing countries	[810 Kb]
3.	Remote sensing for the sustainable development of offshore mariculture	[7 Mb]

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ISBN 978-92-5-107389-6 (print)
E-ISBN 978-92-5-107584-5 (PDF)

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