WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2024 53 marine energy would supply aquaculture operations with reliable, renewable power, while aquaculture developments would provide the marine energy industry an application space to drive further development and growth. The potential benefits of marine energy for aquaculture go far beyond providing renewable power. In a comprehensive 2022 report, Kilcher et al. (2023) assessed existing aquaculturemarine energy co-location developments to identify opportunities and challenges and provide recommendations for enhancing co-location worldwide. They found that in addition to reducing the need for fossil fuels in aquaculture operations, marine energy would limit the potential for damaging fuel spills and reduce noise pollution by decreasing time spent running generators. Co-location also opens the door to integrate a variety of other renewable energy systems, including hydrogen, solar, and batteries. Marine energy technologies are also scalable to meet the power demands of small to large aquaculture operations and can be tailored for location-specific needs. By bringing together aquaculture and marine energy, both can benefit through shared operation and maintenance as well as shared equipment, infrastructure and multi-use platforms, which may lead to cost savings. Overall, the report authors concluded that existing co-location projects around the world demonstrate the success and viability of using marine energy — particularly wave, current, and ocean thermal gradient devices — to power aquaculture operations. Co-locating marine energy and aquaculture is not without challenges, however, and there are practical constraints to consider. For example, aquaculture operations are developed typically in calm waters, but there is more marine energy available in areas with lots of wave, tidal, and current activity. That potential mismatch may limit the use of marine energy in some existing aquaculture operations. There is some uncertainty about how aquaculture and marine energy systems may interact, requiring additional research on mooring system integration, environmental effects, and more. As both the marine energy and offshore aquaculture industries are nascent and still developing, there will likely be challenges related to technology advancement and, potentially, costs that will need to be considered. Future developments will also have to consider challenges related to engineering, design, ocean environment, and user needs to facilitate (CONTINUED ON PAGE 54) FIGURE 3. Marine energy technologies, such as the wave and tidal energy devices shown here, could be co-located with aquaculture operations — including finfish, shellfish, macroalgae, and others — to provide a renewable source of energy from the ocean. (Illustration by Stephanie King, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory). Co-locating Wave Energy and Fish Farms in Puerto Rico Researchers with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are engaging with communities in Puerto Rico to understand opportunities for sustainable aquaculture through co-location with marine energy. Using a holistic approach that combines data and stakeholder input, the team is evaluating the ability to co-locate wave energy with offshore integrated multi-tropic aquaculture (IMTA). In IMTA, two or more species at different levels in the food web are farmed together — such as algae, shellfish, and finfish — to support more efficient growth, reduce environmental impacts, and mutually benefit each species. First, the researchers mapped the wave energy resource around Puerto Rico and the nearby U.S. Virgin Islands (Figure 1). They combined this information with a list of important characteristics for overall site suitability — including wave energy, distance to ports and shipping lanes, and other key environmental and regulatory factors — to identify regions that may be suitable for co-location. With that information in hand, the researchers reached out to local and federal government agencies, community leaders, and non-governmental organizations to hear directly from stakeholders. Through in-person and virtual workshops, they shared the suitability assessment and gathered input to further inform which areas might be appropriate for co-location based on additional factors, such as recreation and fishing. For these efforts they have worked with local organizations, including Sea Grant Puerto Rico and Conservación ConCiencia. They are continuing to solicit input from specific communities near areas with high potential for co-location. Involving local stakeholders in conversations about co-location and soliciting community input to further inform site assessments are a valuable part of the process — because it’s not just about what marine energy resources are available, but also if or how the local communities want them to be used.
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