METHODOLOGIES FOR THE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN MARINE COASTAL AREAS

Protein production from aquaculture and fish farming are considered more efficient and sustainable than traditional livestock farming, due to better feed conversion ratio and lower impact on resources such as water and land. However, the quality of the product is sometimes not perceived by final consumers due to poor traceability of the production process and certification. To improve consumer confidence and the profitability of the supply chain, it is essential to implement a clear and detailed tracking of production, processing, distribution and logistics. The article outlines a method for tracking the quality of a small/medium-sized producer’s production process. The article focuses on the potential production in the low-anthropogenized waters of the North African coasts in accordance with current regulations. The method is described from a legal, biological and technical/scientific point of view. The theme is declined on various interventions to deepen the various areas of the topic. (MASAF, Avv Silvia Canali - Institute of Marine Biology Piombino, Prof Bedini- University of Rome 3, Prof Leccese- SeTeL srl, Ing De Francesco).

The Institute of Marine Biology and Ecology is in charge of the quality control of waters and bottoms of the areas designated to aquaculture and fish farming.

The environmental control activities of the situation of the marine coastal strip also   include the taxonomic determination of the species sampled with various methodologies depending on the sampling areas

The environmental control activities of the situation of the marine coastal strip also   include the taxonomic determination of the species sampled with various methodologies depending on the sampling areas.

• Scraping of the rocky surfaces.
• Sampling of the sandy bottoms with box-corer (fig.1) which are deposited in plastic basins from which the species photogaphed under the stereomicroscope and taxonomically determined will be taken (fig. 2, 3, 4).
• Sampling with plankton net (fig. 5) with which the species that live in the Posidonia oceanica meadows (Linnaeus) Delile, 1813 are captured (fig. 6, 7).

The presence of all the species captured with the methodologies described indicates the state of the environments where the sampling was carried out (Bilyard G.R. (1987)). The value of benthic fauna in Marine Pollution studies. (Marine Pollution Bulletin. Crema et al. 1983; Bilyard, 1987;

Thomson et al. 2003.) The chemical analysis of the sampled sediments are carried out by I.C.C.O.M., C.N.R. of Pisa.