Growth and reproduction simulation of candidate shellfish species at fish cages in the southern mediterranean: Dynamic energy budget (DEB) modelling for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture.

• Published in: Aquaculture
• Main Authors: Sará, G., Reid, G., Rinaldi, A., Palmeri, V., Troell, M., Kooijman, S.A.L.M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_below_water; name=SDG 14 - Life Below Water; Imta; Crassostrea gigas
• Online Access: https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/a63191ae-cfeb-4293-b1c7-81e723fbfe3d; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2011.10.042

A Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model is used to simulate growth and reproduction of the shellfish Mytilus galloprovincialis and Crassostrea gigas in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) farm scenario situated in the Southern Mediterranean (the Gulf of Castellammare, Sicily). We modelled the effect of primary production enrichment at fish cages on shellfish growth and life history traits using 4years-hourly temperature data (01 January 2006-31 December 2009) at a depth of 1m. Outputs of the DEB simulations were: the maximum theoretical total shell length of shellfish, the potential reproductive outputs and the mean annual von Bertalanffy growth rate. There was a mean increase in empirically measured suspended chlorophyll-a of approximately 45% close (within about 100m) to fish cages (2.3±1.1μgl