This page provides basic information on the combination between the aquaculture sector and maritime transport, and will be further populated as more information becomes available.
Aquaculture and maritime transport are two blue economy sectors that rarely interact with each other due to an absence of spatial coexistence.
Suitable areas for the development of marine aquaculture are usually close to shore to ensure maintenance costs are kept to a minimum and infrastructures are sheltered from adverse weather events, while maritime transport follows ship routing systems that rely on a network of dedicated shipping corridors, usually placed far off the coast.
- SECTORS' CHARACTERISTICS
Aquaculture
Aquaculture is defined as “the rearing or cultivation of aquatic organisms using techniques designed to increase the production of the organisms in question beyond the natural capacity of the environment” [1]. The EU aquaculture sector is slowly but steadily growing and is ranked the eleventh largest worldwide with a 0.9 % share of the volume of global output in 2021 [2]. At EU level, the activity is framed by the guidelines for sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture. It is a hugely diverse industry [3]: fish farming refers to the growth of fish in controlled aquatic enclosures, farming of shellfish is the cultivation and harvest of molluscs and crustaceans, and algaculture focuses on the farming of algae species. The EU Algae Initiative aims at making a wider use of that resource, that is not sufficiently developed [4].
Physical factors (water temperature and quality, currents, nutrient availability, etc.) have a direct effect on the growth of aquaculture species. Companies are therefore looking for the most suitable locations for their farms, also considering the associated costs of operations such as depth or distance from port that modify transport possibilities as well as construction, and maintenance costs [5]. This makes distant offshore farming more expensive and more exposed to extreme weather hazards. One of the main challenges is therefore the limited availability of inshore sheltered areas.
Maritime transport
Maritime transport includes shipment of goods and transport of passengers by sea. It remains the backbone of international trade, with the EU being one of the most important exporters and exporters worldwide.
In terms of infrastructure, maritime transport not only requires seagoing vessels, but also ports as central logistics hubs, rendering the sector intimately connected to land-based infrastructure and relying on a complex web of land-sea logistics chains. The governance of the sector is also split between leading global shipowners (MSC, MAERSK, CMA-CGM) and smaller competitors.
Ship routing systems have been established by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in congested shipping areas of the world for safety reasons. To minimize potential environmental impacts of shipping, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from ships aims at minimizing pollution of the oceans and seas. In addition, maritime transport is expected to meet increasing sustainable performance criteria linked to key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and notably SDG 14.
Maritime transport is a well-established sector, with a post-covid increasing demand for goods but also in vessel size and number. This growth puts increasing pressure on the marine environment and can often put important ecosystems at risk, notably through greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, underwater noise, oil pollution, and the introduction of non-indigenous species [6].
For more European statistics and data you can also visit the Eurostat website
- References
Existing co-existence and multi-use initiatives
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