Publication Date:
2023-03-23
Description:
Aquaculture represents an important source of food and it plays an important role in terms of contribution
to economic development. Offshore farming offers considerable advantages, especially in terms of
production costs (lower than those of onshore facilities) and of farmed product quality. Suitable areas for
aquaculture activities are still available in Italy but are increasingly limited and the demand for new farms
is high. The lack of coastal areas allocated to aquaculture and the complex regulatory and legal framework
constitutes the major constraints for further development of the sector. Zoning is the process that can allow
to sustainably identify and allocate suitable areas for aquaculture. Several aspects, such as effective legal
framework and procedures, collection of bio-geochemical, physical and socio-economical information, are
crucial for a correct aquaculture zoning process in order to identify the Allocated Zones for Aquaculture
(AZAs). In the present work, a spatial multi-criteria decision analysis (SMCDA) was applied for the
individuation of potentially suitable marine areas for fish farming across the southern Tyrrhenian coast of
Tuscany (Italy). The spatial model was developed by collecting and processing Earth Observation (EO)
data, oceanography in situ measurements, and infrastructural and environmental constraints. Excluding
areas of constrains, obtained results highlight that 96% of the total investigated area is characterised by
medium (62%) and high (34%) suitability. In particular, the highest suitability areas occur in the Talamone
gulf and offhore the Argentario promontory at water depth between 15-30 m and 30 50m, respectively.
Other high suitability areas occur northern of Piombino town between 30-100 m depth. Environmental data
at higher spatial resolution are needed to improve aquaculture zoning and further process of site selection
in order to ensure the sustainability of fish farming in the study area.
Description:
Published
Description:
106261
Description:
3A. Geofisica marina e osservazioni multiparametriche a fondo mare
Description:
JCR Journal
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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