Project
Circular offshore aquaculture production in the Dutch North Sea (CIRCAQUA)
Offshore aquaculture can enable sustainable food production in the Dutch North Sea. CircAqua will support the design and organization of mussel and seaweed farms, enabling them to develop within the social and environmental carrying capacity of coastal and off-shore areas. The project will develop a Blue Food Vision and Strategy to position aquaculture at the centre of the North Sea 2050 Spatial Agenda.
CircAqua overview
Low trophic offshore aquaculture – such as mussel and seaweed production holds considerable potential delivering net positive combined nature-food outcomes and improving the resilience of the food system a whole. This is especially the case in densely populated and ecologically vulnerable coastal and deltaic regions of the world.
Previous attempts to revise Dutch North Sea spatial planning has tended to either marginalise the space given to Low trophic aquaculture, in favour of demands from other sectors including nature protection. This has resulted in limited attention being given to the innovation required to deliver sustainably produced food, within the wider goals of both energy production and nature conservation.
CircAqua will contribute knowledge for a new Blue Food Vision and Strategy for upscaling Low trophic offshore aquaculture in the North. The knowledge created will help revise the North Sea 2050 Spatial Agenda and provide a vision for biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning to 2120. The results of our research will also contribute to an improved understanding of carrying capacity and innovation governance for offshore food production.
PhD projects
Femke van Nimwegen - Biological interactions between sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) & blue mussels (Mytilus edulis)
Merel Lanjouw – Modelling low trophic aquaculture in the North Sea
Hilde Brouwers – Blue food visions for offshore aquaculture in the Dutch North Sea
Sarah Veillat - Governing innovation for offshore low-trophic aquaculture
