Environmental indicators in salmon aquaculture research: A systematic review

Citation

Rector M, Weitzman J, Filgueira R & Grant J (2022) Environmental indicators in salmon aquaculture research: A systematic review. Reviews in Aquaculture, 14 (1), pp. 156-177. https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12590

Abstract
Aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry, often lauded as a solution to overfishing and increasing global demand for protein sources. 1-3 In fact, global fish consumption is growing faster than consumption of any other animal protein, and in 2018 aquaculture accounted for over half of fish produced for human consumption. 4 Aquaculture is not only an important source of protein; it is also economically significant and employs over 20 million people. Amongst fish commodities, salmonids account for a larger proportion of total seafood value than any other fish, and this value is largely driven by farmed salmon. 4 The growth of salmon farming requires sustainable management of ocean resources on which aquaculture relies and subsequently impacts. Salmon farming is embedded within the marine environment ; it relies on natural ecosystem processes to support the growth of fish contained within cage structures. As such, salmon farming is a social-ecological system with inputs including fish feed and human labour, and outputs including waste products and food for people. Abstract The ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA) is a strategy for the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector, but the question of how it can be practically implemented remains unclear. Indicators that can be applied at relevant scales of impact and that reflect the environmental status and change offer a means of opera-tionalizing EAA. Therefore, a systematic literature review was carried out to identify environmental indicators referenced in salmon aquaculture literature and review their potential to support EAA. Using the PRISMA method for selecting journal papers, 101 articles that included 531 indicators were reviewed. Indicators were characterized based on the effect of aquaculture they measure, their similarity to other indicators extracted, and the scale at which they were applied. Indicators and their characteristics are presented in a searchable online database. A scoring method for evaluating indicators based on criteria drawn from environmental indicator literature and the potential scalability of indicators to meet the needs of EAA was developed and applied to the most frequently referenced indicators. Overall, near-field indicators of benthic impacts dominated salmon aquaculture literature. Of the most frequently referenced indicators, those that scored highest based on criteria drawn from environmental indicator literature also scored highest on scalability and therefore their potential contribution to EAA. Overall, results suggest that additional research and application of far-field environmental indicators in salmon aquaculture will be required to identify a suite of indicators that can be applied as part of EAA practice.

Keywords
aquaculture; benthic effects; ecosystem approach to aquaculture; indicators; salmon

Journal
Reviews in Aquaculture: Volume 14, Issue 1