Innovation towards the sustainability of Mediterranean blue economy New Technologies for Marine

Associate Professor Rigers BAKIU

Agricultural University of Tirana (Tirana, AL)

Albanian Center for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development (Tirana, AL) • 03: and Aquaculture (p.104) 03.1: Fishing • 03.11 - Marine fishing • 03.12 - Freshwater fishing 03.2: Aquaculture (p.105) • 03.21 - Marine aquaculture • 03.22 - Freshwater aquaculture Mediterranean Basin

• Mediterranean basin is characterized by oligo or ultra-oligo trophic waters with a high environmental variability and steep physical-chemical gradients within a relatively restricted region: salinity, temperature, alkalinity and stratification all tend to increase eastwards (Lacoue-Labarthe et al. 2015). Overall eight species contributed 90 per cent of • The term ‘a miniature ocean’ was coined to describe the Mediterranean Sea (Béthoux et al. 1999) and this Aquaculture has been extended to compare the production: Mediterranean to a giant mesocosm of the world’s oceans (Lejeusne et al. 2010). the European seabass, The Mediterranean basin is an area where different environmental, gilthead seabream, geomorphological, hydrogeological and climate regions meet and allow different trout, aquaculture systems and technologies to develop and succeed. common carp, tilapia, mussels, and Manila clams. Mediterranean Basin

• Aquaculture production of marine finfish was dominated by two main species, the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) with 161 058 mt, and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) representing with 134 712 mt, in some countries also cultivated in brackish water. • In fact, until 1985, the production of the two main marine species was carried out mainly in land-based systems, such as ponds, and production from floating cages was limited to only 27 mt produced at artisanal level in inshore conditions. • In the early 1990s, the culture in floating cages increased progressively and many farms moved towards the open sea. In 2010 marine aquaculture in floating cages of finfish represented 82.33 per cent of the total production of these two. Marine Aquaculture Production Analyses and Technologies

• Spain • Greece • Turkey • Albania Spain

• In 2016, a total of 5.105 aquaculture establishments were in operation and producing in Spain.

• Of these, 4.782 were marine molluscs aquaculture farms,

• 200 were freshwater fish aquaculture farms,

• 82 farms were on the coast, beaches, intertidal zones and estuaries,

• and 41 were off shore sea cage farms. Spain

•The harvest of aquaculture seabass in Spain in 2017 was 21.269 tonnes. •The Region of Murcia has led the production with 6.990 tonnes, followed by Canarias (5.900 tonnes), Comunidad Valenciana 5 (4.972 tonnes) Andalucía (3.261 tonnes) and Cataluña (146 tonnes). 3

1 2 4 Greece

• Greece has more than 300 marine aquaculture farms, mostly near the Dodecanese Islands, Ionian Islands and Euboea.

• In 2015, the industry raised at least 121,000 tons of sea bream, European bass and mussels. • Marine holds a dominant position representing 98% of the volume & value of farmed fish in Greece. • Greece ranks 2nd in terms of volume and value among the EU-28 in fish farming (following the UK) Greece

Spatial distribution & employment in Marine Fish Farming

• Greece 2017 63% of EU supply, 29% of global supply Greece

Marine Organic fish farming

• Organic production stands for 0,7% of total bass and bream production due to limited market

• The initial legislative framework for organic aquaculture in the European Union (EU) was the Directive (EEC) 2092, which was recently replaced by the Directives (EC) 83407 and (EC) 88908 (European Union 1991, 2007, 2008).

• At the same time ‘FAO guidelines for the production, processing, labelling and marketing of organically produced foods’ (FAO 2002) and the guidelines in Codex Alimentarius (FAO ⁄WHO 2001) were formulated, as well as general principles for organic production and processing by IFOAM (IFOAM 2007).

• Subsequently, governmental bodies and private companies at a national level were formed and produced organic standards for various species in aquaculture (Bergleiter 2001; Brister & Kapuscinski 2001) Greece

Marine Organic fish farming

• Annual production for 2008 was estimated to be approximately 800–1000 tonnes of sea bass and sea This is because of the extended growing period of 20–24 months compared with 16–18 months for nonorganic fish, and bream (Miliou 2008; Skoufou 2008) (less than 1% of the increased water volumes required for the same level of the total Greek aquaculture production), with mean production, the increased cost of specialized fish feeds and the cost of certification. ex-farm prices at €8–10.5 per kg. The final product is exported to German and UK markets and a • Accordingly, retail prices varied between €15 and small amount is distributed to large supermarket retailers within Greece (Georgiopoulou 2008; Skoufou 2008). €24 per kg for both species; these prices are The European market potential for these species is estimated significantly higher than conventionally raised fish to be approximately 4000–6000 tonnes annually (Proffitt 2005); however, organic sea bass and sea bream are still considered to and similar to the price of ‘wild’ caught specimens. be ultra-niche market products. Turkey

• Aquaculture is the fastest growing sector in Turkey by showing a growing volume by over 293% in the past decade.

• Problems had been mainly occurred between sea farms and other coastal sectors such as tourism, environmental protection, maritime, recreation etc. in Aegean and Mediterranean coasts which were already established most of seabass and seabream farms.

• The first marine aquaculture zones were determined in 1988 and were provided moving of sea farms from the in shore and coastal zones. Turkey

• is booming in Turkey

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector in Turkey, which is now the largest fish-producing country in the Mediterranean Basin and the second-largest fish producer in Europe after Norway.

In 2017, Turkey featured 425 marine farms, a large majority of which were located offshore. Of these, most farms are dedicated to sea bass and sea bream (total offshore production in 2016 = 150,000 tons). More than half of marine offshore farms in Turkey are located in Muglia in the Aegean Sea.

• Turkey’s offshore sectors can certainly be considered a success story in terms of growth, profitability, and market share; every year, over 50 new facilities are installed and the often vertically integrated producers are celebrating record exports to more than 60 countries globally. An “offshore aquaculture” operation in Turkey is defined as one in waters of >40 meters, which can be found within the first nautical mile from shore. Offshore Finfish Aquaculture - Global Review and U.S. Prospects 2018 Turkey

• Turkstat Albania

Region of Vlora owns 85% of marine fish farms in Albania, while the remaining marine fish farms are located in Saranda and Shengjin region.

• In Vlora and Saranda region there are present fish fattening units of marine fish species (gilthead seabream and European seabass),

• Mussel farming activity is exclusively localised in Saranda and Shengjin regions, respectively. Albania

• Following approval of the Law on Aquaculture in 2016, the licensing of new aquaculture farms will be allowed only when the plan of allocated zones has been established and approved. – on going study previous to the establishment of AZAs

• Albania faces three main barriers to increasing its aquaculture production: high costs of inputs, low internal and external demand for its , and outdated regulation for the aquaculture sector.

• Albania does not comply with all the safety requirements of external markets for mussels (M. galoprovinciallis), which would be a guarantee to consumers about the quality of Albanian fish products and a needed step to increase demand and competitiveness for the industry.

Albania Marine Fish Farming Albania Production Value and Trend Climate Change Impacts on Aquaculture • Specific measures to reduce aquaculture vulnerability in accordance with the ecosystem approach to aquaculture include:

• improved management of farms and choice of farmed species; • improved spatial planning of farms that takes climate-related risks into account; • improved environmental monitoring involving users; • improved local, national and international coordination of prevention and mitigation actions. Climate Change Impacts on Aquaculture Species

“The term “technological innovations” is applied here to alternative species and Aquaculture Systems climate adapted strains and aquaculture systems that reduce susceptibility to Monitoring Technologies climate change, as well as to technologies that can inform risks and adaptation.” Tackling Climate Change Impacts on Aquaculture • Macrofaunal communities have not shown deterioration but rather a small, yet statistically significant, improvement in diversity indices and ecological status indicators, and no significant change regarding bioturbation potential.

• This indicated that processes involved in nutrient consumption and transfer are highly effective in such an oligotrophic environment. • The potential effects of climate change on the distribution of benthic species commonly used inmarine ecological quality assessment were investigated using a spatial modelling approach.

• In this work, the relevance of the ecological groups that macrofaunal molluscs are assigned according to their sensitivity or tolerance to environmental disturbance was examined under the scope of the RCP 8.5 severe emissions scenario.

• The effects of climate change were more profound on species that are indicative of a specific suite of climatic conditions regarding temperature and salinity. • Significant loss of habitat suitability was observed for the tolerant species Corbula gibba and Abra prismatica whereas the sensitive species Moerella donacina was least affected.

• In contrast, an overall expansion of the distributional potential was observed for the sensitive species Flexopecten hyalinus as newly suitable habitats are formed.

• As hypothesised, the current ecological grouping that depicts the sensitivity of a benthic species to an environmental stressor is irrelevant when assessing the effects of climate change.

• These authors proposed a new standpoint of using benthic species as biotic tools based on their ecological niche requirements. Tackling Climate Change Impacts on Aquaculture

• Moving water-based aquaculture (especially cages and pens for finfish) onto land and employing recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technologies are also being proposed as a means of reducing exposure to climatic extremes.

• In such systems, water quality, including temperature, DO, salinity and pH, can be controlled to meet species’ needs. RAS, however, remain comparatively expensive in terms of both capital and operational costs and require high levels of technical expertise (Murray, Bostock and Fletcher, 2014).

• While there has been steady progress, the long-term reliability of RAS still needs to be demonstrated. Tackling Climate Change Impacts on Aquaculture

• , the production of fish and plants in an integrated system, is proposed as a means of producing food in areas where freshwater is limited (Somerville et al., 2014).

• Aquaponics can be considered as a particular type of RAS and thus shares many of the same attributes.

• It is also worth pointing out that neither system is likely to be immune from extreme climate events in small island developing states or coastal areas vulnerable to such events without further development. Recirculating Aquaculture System • The key component of RAS was the reactor to remove NH4+-N. It should also meet the requirements such as small footprint, process stability and biosecurity (Rejish Kumar et al. 2010; Seo et al. 2001).

• The reactors used in RAS were usually biological aerated filter (BAF). It could remove NH4 +-N and dissolved organic matter simultaneously (Schreier et al. 2010).

• Marine aquaculture water had a relatively low pollutant concentration, which led to low biomass yield in treatment systems. Sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) has been widely applied in water treatment due to its high biomass concentration and flexible operation (Jin et al. 2012). Aquaponics in Albania Aquaponics in Albania Aquaponics Research

• Juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were reared in an aquaponic freshwater (AFW) system and an aquaponic saltwater (ASW) system (salinity 20 ppt), in combination with chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) seedlings, a salt tolerant plant.

• At the end of the trial, nitrate and phosphate concentration in water significantly increased in the ASW system, suggesting that the ability of B. vulgaris to absorb these substances was limited by salinity.

• The results demonstrated that it is possible to increase aquaponic profitability by farming D. labrax juveniles in an aquaponic freshwater system together with Beta vulgaris, obtaining good quality products Marine Aquaponics in Mediterranean basin

• Freshwater aquaponic is the most widely diffused and described aquaponic technique.

• The limited resources of freshwater for agriculture and aquaculture,

• as well as the progressive increase of the soil salinity worldwide (Turcios and Papenbrock, 2014, 37), are leading on one side to the more frequent use of alternative water resources such as brackish water (Pantanella, 2012a, 26), on the other side to the use of salt tolerant or resistant plants (Joesting et al., 2016; Turcios and Papenbrock, 2014, 37; Buhmann and Papenbrock, 2013, 39). Marine Aquaponics in Mediterranean basin

• According to Orellana et al. (2013), nowadays the most innovative strategy in aquaculture seems to be the development of “traditional” IAS based on marine water; to this purpose, plants might be fruitfully grown.

• To this regard, several studies suggest that the waste produced by marine aquaculture facilities can be successfully used to irrigate the salt tolerant or resistant plant species (McIntosh and Fitzsimmons, 2003; Dufault et al., 2001; Dufault and Korkmaz, 2000).

• From these considerations comes the interest in “marine aquaponics”, where euryhaline fish species and halophytes plants are cultured. Euryhaline species, which can live in a wide range of salinity (Alessio et al., 2001), demonstrate a remarkable compatibility with a wide variety of plant species such as , halophytes plants and other vegetable crops (Pantanella and Colla, 2013). Marine Aquaponics in Mediterranean basin

• Agriloops joined Agrocampus in Rennes in late 2017 where the start-up owns a lab space of 80m2 and a site of 100m2 to build its first salt-water aquaponics prototype, for which it is finalising a €500k fund-raising campaign.

• Agriloops is therefore looking to combine a high-end production – healthier with an antibiotics-free objective, more environmentally friendly and closer to consumers with also a no-freezing objective – and a production of cherry tomatoes and mesclun salad of the sea (mertensia maritima, sea asparagus, plantain) whose taste is enhanced by the sea water. Agriloops anticipates that its first farm in Rennes will enter the • “Prawn aquaculture also has a strong environmental impact as an estimated industrial phase in 2020, targeting a production of 20 tonnes of surface of 1.5 million of hectares of mangroves have been destroyed, namely in 30 gram (king prawns) and 40 tonnes of vegetables, for an anticipated workforce of 22 employees. Indonesia. Despite the competition in Europe in the ultra fresh prawn sector, Eventually, Agriloops plans to develop other aquacultural there is a niche production market that controls its chain entirely” Jérémie species such as bass and bream. Cognard claims. Tackling Climate Change Impacts on Aquaculture

• Climate-smart agriculture aims to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes, while building resilience through adaptation to and mitigation of the impacts of climate change.

• It guides actions needed to transform and reorient agriculture systems to increase productivity, enhance resilience (adaptation), reduce or remove greenhouse gases (mitigation) where possible, and enhance the achievement of national food security and sustainable development goals (FAO, 2013, forthcoming).

• CSA differs from other approaches such as sustainable intensification of aquaculture in its explicit focus on addressing climate change and the search for maximizing synergies and trade-offs between productivity, adaptation and mitigation while ensuring accessible and nutritious food for all.

• This challenge has led some researchers and fish farmers to consider CSA as an alternative and innovative adaptation practice that allows increased aquaculture production while ensuring societal and environmental sustainability.

• For example, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture uses the farming of a combination of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants to remove particulate and dissolved wastes from fish farming and provide a self-sustaining source of food (FAO, forthcoming). Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)

• Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) combines, in the appropriate proportions, the cultivation of fed aquaculture species (e.g., finfish/) with organic (e.g., bivalve molluscs) and/or inorganic extractive species (e.g., seaweed). It is a practice in which the wastes from one species are recycled and become the inputs (e.g., fertilizer, food and energy) for another.

• IMTA differs from the traditional practice of aquatic-polyculture in that it incorporates species from different trophic levels, whereas with polyculture, the species tend to be from the same or similar trophic levels, and therefore share the same biological and chemical processes, providing few synergistic benefits. The principles of IMTA can be applied to saltwater and freshwater operations on land, near the coast or offshore. Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)

• To function well in open-water IMTA systems, the culture of organic extractive species (e.g., shellfish or deposit-feeding invertebrate) and/or inorganic extractive species (e.g., macroalgae) should take place in close-proximity to the cages, usually somewhat downstream to ensure effective uptake of nutrients. Offshore IMTA relies on currents to move nutrient-rich water from fed to extractive species.

• Coastal and pelagic currents can be difficult to predict and are location and seasonally dependent. Correct positioning of additional crops will require experimental trials and/or modelling. The organic extractive species consume particulate organic matter (i.e., uneaten feed/food and feces) and the inorganic extractive species uptake ammonia, nitrate, phosphorus, and carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

• Within the literature on-land IMTA has been broken down into two additional sub-groups ( wetlands and saltwater aquaponics), both of which include an inorganic extractive species as a component of their integrated, multi- trophic system. Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)

• The growing interest shown over the last few years by a number of countries with a fishing tradition in researching into Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) is positive, promising news for the future of marine cultures.

• In this regard, it is a widespread notion in the scientific community that one of the most complex stages of these processes at the industrial phase, is to make a selection of species that are efficient while finding the correct proportion in which they should occur.

• the use of the different trophic levels of the various farmed species makes it possible to set up a balanced fish farm production system, apart from leading to an improvement in production and quality of waters, both in the marine environment itself and in open or closed circuit systems of fish farm production Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)

Apart from Galicia, a leading region in marine culture, lines of work have been developed in IMTA systems and practices, by official bodies and scientists in Andalusia, the Balearic Isles, the Canaries, Catalonia and Murcia.

Thank you!!!