New model will reveal salmon farms’ impact on environment

A consortium of research organisations in Scotland is developing what is hoped will be a more accurate way of predicting how salmon farms interact with their surrounding environment.

The new model is intended to help inform decisions on future farm locations and the development of existing farms, and to enhance the sector’s overall sustainability.

The Scottish Government has promised reform of the licensing system for salmon farms and a new “spatially-based risk assessment framework” for Scotland is currently being developed, so clarity regarding the impact of salmon farms will be critical.

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO), Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC),and the University of Dundee are exploring how the model used to understand the interaction between fish farms and the seabed beneath them – known as NewDEPOMOD – can better reflect the physical and ecological conditions in different parts of Scotland.

The project builds on the work undertaken over the last two years by SAMS, SSPO,and SAIC – in consultation with SEPA, the Scottish environmental regulator – with the addition of expertise in environmental fluid mechanics and sediment transport dynamics from the University of Dundee.

Researchers will mimic the hydrodynamic conditions and sediment bed characteristics in different types of waters in Scotland – from sheltered sea lochs to more exposed coastal waters with rocky, sandy or muddy seabeds.They will then model the settling, deposition,and resuspension of waste matter from fish farms to see how they will react within these environments.