Sustainability

Threats of unsustainable aquaculture

Some threats of unsustainable aquaculture practices include:

• Uneaten fish food, waste chemicals and fish waste which can sink to the seafloor and cause pollution.
• Producing salmon feed from ingredients which come from unsustainable sources.
• The number of fish per cage (fish density) being too high which can increase spread of diseases and parasites.
• Escaped farmed fish spreading disease to wild fish.

Identify these threats in the below diagram:

Ways of improving sustainability in aquaculture

There are several ways to improve the sustainability of aquaculture related to the threats described in the previous section.

• Adequate monitoring of feeding to reduce wastage limits the amount of feed which sinks to the seafloor causing pollution. This can be improved by camera systems such as the one simulated in the "feeding station" scenario of the Blue Sector VR app.
• Making use of technological innovation in terms of feeding and nutrition is another method of improving sustainability in aquaculture.  Commercial fish feed currently consists of fishmeal (ground fish) and fish oil, and tends to rely on catching wild fish for its production. The demand for these small fish species is predicted to outweigh the available supply as early as 2037. Alternative feed ingredients are therefore needed to support the industry as it grows without depleting ocean resources. Some of the most promising sustainable fish feed alternatives come from insects, single celled proteins like yeast and bacterial proteins with positive results being generated in aquaculture research currently.
• Considering the density of fish stocked in the salmon cages is beneficial to their well-being and also increases sustainability. While stocking density alone is not a definitive indicator of fish welfare in aquaculture, high stocking densities can expose salmon to high levels of unnecessary stress which compromise their immune system.  A salmon cage is generally made up of 2-4% salmon and 96-98% water, keeping the number of salmon per cage to this level helps keep the fish healthy and limits their risk of illness. In the "cage maintenance" scenario of the Blue Sector VR app the user completes a task to stock a salmon cage with fish. In real life, sustainability is an important factor when deciding how many fish to put in each cage.
• Maintaining the integrity of the salmon cages is important for preventing escapes which can spread disease to any wild fish. In the "cage maintenance" scenario of the Blue Sector VR app the user is able to make repairs to the cage to simulate typical maintenance which would be required in real world scenarios. It's important to use strong materials capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions and allowing protection from predators.

Benefits of sustainable aquaculture

When the aquaculture industry follows best practice to promote sustainability, the benefits include:

• Reducing the pressure on wild fish populations
• The growth of the industry to produce food in line with a growing world population
• Fish produced all year round which would not be possible with wild salmon