TY - JOUR
T1 - Cleaning up seas using blue growth initiatives: Mussel farming for eutrophication control in the Baltic Sea
AU - Kotta, Jonne
AU - Futter, Martyn
AU - Kaasik, Ants
AU - Liversage, Kiran
AU - Rätsep, Merli
AU - Barboza, Francisco
AU - Bergström, Lena
AU - Bergström, Per
AU - Bobsien, Ivo
AU - Díaz, Eliecer
AU - Herkül, Kristjan
AU - Jonsson, Per R.
AU - Korpinen, Samuli
AU - Kraufvelin, Patrik
AU - Krost, Peter
AU - Lindahl, Odd
AU - Lindegarth, Mats
AU - Lyngsgaard, Maren Moltke
AU - Mühl, Martina
AU - Nyström Sandman, Antonia
AU - Orav-Kotta, Helen
AU - Orlova, Marina
AU - Skov, Henrik
AU - Rissanen, Jouko
AU - Siaulys, Andrius
AU - Vidakovic, Aleksandar
AU - Virtanen, Elina
PY - 2020/3/20
Y1 - 2020/3/20
N2 - Eutrophication is a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems globally with pronounced negative effects in the Baltic and other semi-enclosed estuaries and regional seas, where algal growth associated with excess nutrients causes widespread oxygen free “dead zones” and other threats to sustainability. Decades of policy initiatives to reduce external (land-based and atmospheric) nutrient loads have so far failed to control Baltic Sea eutrophication, which is compounded by significant internal release of legacy phosphorus (P) and biological nitrogen (N) fixation. Farming and harvesting of the native mussel species (Mytilus edulis/trossulus) is a promising internal measure for eutrophication control in the brackish Baltic Sea. Mussels from the more saline outer Baltic had higher N and P content than those from either the inner or central Baltic. Despite their relatively low nutrient content, harvesting farmed mussels from the central Baltic can be a cost-effective complement to land-based measures needed to reach eutrophication status targets and is an important contributor to circularity. Cost effectiveness of nutrient removal is more dependent on farm type than mussel nutrient content, suggesting the need for additional development of farm technology. Furthermore, current regulations are not sufficiently conducive to implementation of internal measures, and may constitute a bottleneck for reaching eutrophication status targets in the Baltic Sea and elsewhere.
AB - Eutrophication is a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems globally with pronounced negative effects in the Baltic and other semi-enclosed estuaries and regional seas, where algal growth associated with excess nutrients causes widespread oxygen free “dead zones” and other threats to sustainability. Decades of policy initiatives to reduce external (land-based and atmospheric) nutrient loads have so far failed to control Baltic Sea eutrophication, which is compounded by significant internal release of legacy phosphorus (P) and biological nitrogen (N) fixation. Farming and harvesting of the native mussel species (Mytilus edulis/trossulus) is a promising internal measure for eutrophication control in the brackish Baltic Sea. Mussels from the more saline outer Baltic had higher N and P content than those from either the inner or central Baltic. Despite their relatively low nutrient content, harvesting farmed mussels from the central Baltic can be a cost-effective complement to land-based measures needed to reach eutrophication status targets and is an important contributor to circularity. Cost effectiveness of nutrient removal is more dependent on farm type than mussel nutrient content, suggesting the need for additional development of farm technology. Furthermore, current regulations are not sufficiently conducive to implementation of internal measures, and may constitute a bottleneck for reaching eutrophication status targets in the Baltic Sea and elsewhere.
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136144
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136144
M3 - Article
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 709
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 136144
ER -