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Environmental Effects of Marine Finfish Aquaculture pp 275–304Cite as

Benthic Macrofaunal Changes Resulting from Finfish Mariculture

Part of the Handbook of Environmental Chemistry book series (HEC5,volume 5M)

Abstract

We present a review of the benthic macrofaunal changes that are circumstantially linked to intensive marine finfish aquaculture, or mariculture. The community structural and functional changes of macrofauna identified are mostly near-field effects, limited to the farm cage footprint. In common with other organic enrichment events in sediments, the mechanism in mariculture-related macrofaunal change is primarily caused by death due to hypoxia in sediments, followed by re-colonization with specialized organic enrichment tolerant macrofauna. Despite recent attention to the field of mariculture ecology, much still remains to be done to fully understand and manage the ecosystem effects of this activity. In the second part of this chapter we present a case history study from a marine tidal inlet (L'Etang) in the Bay of Fundy, Canada during a period of rapid industrialization, dominated first by pulp mill effluents in the 1970s, and then by salmon mariculture development beginning in the 1980s and continuing today. Circumstantial evidence links the temporal benthic macrofaunal changes found in L'Etang Inlet to far field organic enrichment effects, primarily resulting from pulp mill pollution in the most landward area and salmon mariculture in the seaward end. It is shown that the temporal macrofaunal changes at the seaward end are not due to hypoxia in sediments or to natural seasonal and interannual changes. A new alternative hypothesis in aquaculture ecology is proposed: that the macrofaunal changes are far field effects resulting from the increased sedimentation (quality and amount) associated with intensive mariculture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Biological Station, 531 Brandy Cove Road, St. Andrews, NB, E5B 2L9, Canada

    D. J. Wildish

  2. Huntsman Marine Science Centre, 1 Lower Campus Road, St. Andrews, NB, E5B 2L9, Canada

    G. W. Pohle

Authors
  1. D. J. Wildish
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  2. G. W. Pohle
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Correspondence to D. J. Wildish .

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Barry T. Hargrave

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Wildish, D.J., Pohle, G.W. Benthic Macrofaunal Changes Resulting from Finfish Mariculture. In: Hargrave, B.T. (eds) Environmental Effects of Marine Finfish Aquaculture. Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 5M. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/b136015

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