TY  - JOUR
U1  - Zeitschriftenartikel, wissenschaftlich - begutachtet (reviewed)
A1  - Buer, Anna-Lucia
A1  - Maar, Marie
A1  - Nepf, Mark
A1  - Ritzenhofen, Lukas
A1  - Dahlke, Sven
A1  - Friedland, René
A1  - Krost, Peter
A1  - Peine, Florian
A1  - Schernewski, Gerald
T1  - Potential and Feasibility of Mytilus spp. Farming Along a Salinity Gradient
JF  - Frontiers in Marine Science
N2  - Mussel farming, compared to marine finfish aquaculture, represents an environmentally friendly alternative for a high quality protein source and can at the same time be a measure to remove excess nutrients in eutrophic areas. As such, it is considered as a promising “blue growth” potential and promoted within the European Union. To expand mussel aquaculture, new regions have to be considered because there are multiple marine usages, and spatial limitations occur in coastal areas. The brackish Baltic Sea might be considered for expansion of mussel aquaculture. This study focusses on estimated production potential, economic profitability and nutrient remediation potential of mussel farming at different salinities. Four experimental mussel farms were set up along the German Baltic coast at salinities ranging from 7 to 17 psu. Collected growth data was used to calibrate and validate a Dynamic Energy Budget model and to predict the potential mussel production at 12 sites along the German coast. The estimated production and nutrient removal was used to assess economic profitability, assuming two usages of the harvest: human consumption and mussel meal production. Measured mussel specific growth rates increased with salinity from 0.05 mm d–1 in Greifswald Bay to 0.11 mm d–1 in Kiel Fjord. Within 6 months, a 1-ha farm could produce from 1 t (Darss-Zingst-Bodden-Chain) to 51 t (Flensburg) fresh mussels and remove 1.1 to 27.7 kg P and 24.7 to 612.7 kg N, respectively. Mussel farms at sites west of Rostock at salinities >10 psu could produce 5 cm mussels within 18 months, but only farms at Flensburg, Eckernförde and Kiel Fjord became profitable at a farm size of 4 ha (160,000 m3) at current market prices of 2.2 € kg–1. Regardless of the farm size, none of the farm sites could operate profitable if fresh mussels were sold for animal feeding at sales price of 0.06 € kg–1. Yearly nutrient removal costs at a small-scale farm (1 ha) ranged between 162 € (Flensburg) and 4,018 € (Darss-Zingst-Bodden-Chain) kg–1 nitrogen, and 3,580 € and 88,750 € kg–1 phosphorus, respectively.
KW  - -
KW  - Baltic Sea
KW  - mussel cultivation
KW  - growth rates
KW  - DEB-model
KW  - profitability
Y1  - 2020
UN  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:9-opus-37842
SN  - 2296-7745
SS  - 2296-7745
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00371
DO  - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00371
VL  - 7
PB  - Frontiers Media S.A.
ER  -