The Bedford Institute of Oceanography recently hosted the international Workshop on Modelling the Environmental Interac- tions of Mariculture. The Workshop was organised under the auspices of the ICES Working Group on Environmental Interactions of Mariculture and brought together over 30 researchers from eight countries. Most of the participants were from Europe and North America, but scientists came from as far away as Israel and South Africa.
The major focus of the Workshop was communication between scientists working in this field in order to help standardise model development and ensure consistency between the results of different modelling approaches. This is an increasingly important concern as mariculture develops into a major international industry, and the results of models are increas- ingly likely to be considered in the negotiating process.
The Workshop, which was organised by Drs. William Silvert and Barry Hargrave of the Habitat Ecology Section, dealt primarily with finfish mariculture as the ICES Mariculture Committee is sponsoring a similar meeting dealing with shellfish which will be held in England in 1996. The papers were grouped under four main headings:
1)Effluents: Production of particulate and dissolved effluents by cultured marine organisms. These calculations are generally based on physiological models. Two papers were presented.
2)Dispersal: Physical transport of effluents from a farm into the water column and sediments, including processes such as flushing, sedimentation, and resuspension. This section was further divided into deposition of particulates (three papers), and flushing of dissolved and suspended effluents (six papers).
3)Effects: Environmental effects that these wastes generate in the environment, such as changes in primary production due to nutrification and turbidity, or changes in benthic conditions. Five papers were presented.
4)Implementation: Use and presentation of models in a management framework. This can include the use of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and expert systems, as well as protocols for the use of models in environmental impact assessment for mariculture operations. Three papers were presented.
The Workshop concluded with a round-table discussion of regulatory practices in different countries.
Agreement was reached on a number of issues for future consideration. A report was submitted to the Mariculture Committee before the ICES Annual Meeting, and a more detailed and comprehensive report is being prepared for consideration at the next meeting of the ICES Working Group on Environmental Interactions of Mariculture in 1996.
One unusual aspect of the meeting which has attracted considerable attention and interest both from participants and others was a decision to publish the proceedings of the Workshop electronically by making it available on the World Wide Web. While there was general agreement that some sort of publication was appropriate, it seemed that as the thrust of the Workshop was to look at work in progress, and many of the papers were not final studies suitable for primary publication, a faster and less formal document than a book or technical report would be appropriate. The use of the World Wide Web meant that papers could be distributed electronically within hours of being received, and there were no publishing or distribution costs. Thus far over 300 copies of the Workshop proceedings have been distributed in this manner.