| The objectives are to establish the state of the art in applying spatial analyses to issues in
aquaculture in an ecosystems framework and to identify ways and means to expand the use of
GIS to support the implementation of the ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA). The
presentation proceeds step-wise by reviewing the state of major ecosystems and associated
ecosystem issues. Ecosystem based management is broadly considered and then the focus is
narrowed to the status of FAO initiatives in promoting ecosystem approaches in fisheries and
aquaculture. As a basis for GIS- based interventions in the EAA, the geography of aquaculture is
examined in terms of the environments in which aquaculture operates and with regard to indices
of the intensity of aquaculture production among countries in those environments. This, along
with the status of ecosystems, serves to call attention to the countries and environments in which
spatial analyses could be most beneficial to achieving the EAA. In order to evaluate the state of
the art in applying spatial analyses to aquaculture, a sample of GIS applications was classified as
to the ecosystems in which they took place and as to the scale of the studies. A separate
accounting of the issues addressed by GIS applications, together with the preceding evaluations,
reveals the status of GIS applications from an ecosystem perspective.
From a GIS perspective, in order for spatial analyses to more usefully contribute to the EAA, the
most important considerations are availability of data, tools and capacities for analyses. The first
of these is addressed by multi-disciplinary inventories of spatial data that can be used to define
ecosystems in an aquaculture perspective, and of international organizations conducting GISbased
ecosystems studies. Tools are assessed in terms of decision-making and modeling useful
for the EAA. Indicators of capacity are given by the numbers of GIS applications in aquaculture
per country and by more general indicators of computer use and connectivity. Finally,
recommendations are made on ways and means to expedite the use of GIS in the EAA including
synergies with fisheries.
Abstract presented at the Fourth International Symposium on GIS/Spatial Analysis in Fishery and Aquatic Sciences in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 25–29 August 2008.
Related publication:
Soto, D.; Aguilar-Manjarrez, J.; Hishamunda, N. (eds).
Building an ecosystem approach to aquaculture. FAO/Universitat de les Illes Balears
Expert Workshop. 7–11 May 2007, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Proceedings. No. 14. Rome, FAO. 2008. 221p.
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