The rapid development of offshore marine aquaculture has raised concerns due partly to the potential for negative ecological and genetic impacts should farmed fish escape and encounter wild conspecifics. Ecological impacts occur because of spatial proximity and physical contact and may result in competition, disease transmission, or introduction of non-native species. Genetic impacts due to interbreeding between wild and escaped fish may result in reduced genetic diversity within and among populations and loss of fitness. Loss of genetic diversity and fitness compromises adaptive potential, making a population potentially less responsive to changing environmental conditions. There is little scientific data, however, that reliably evaluates these risks due to escapees. Thus, existing regulatory standards are largely preventative, theoretical, or qualitative rather than quantitative.
The NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture is addressing this knowledge gap as part of their Genetics Initiative by developing the Offshore Mariculture Escapes Genetics Assessment (OMEGA) simulation model in collaboration with ICF International. OMEGA is intended to provide insight into variables affecting risk, help identify research priorities, explore options for operational design or modification, and inform policy and management decisions. Current work is focused on 1) a sensitivity analysis to identify input variables with significant or non-significant effects on model output toward making OMEGA operational and user-friendly and 2) fostering external collaborations to develop model scenarios with data from aquaculture operations worldwide.
Presenter: Kristen Gruenthal, ERT Consultant, NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, kristen.gruenthal@noaa.gov
Moderator: Shiyu Rachel Wang, Knauss Fellow, NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, shiyu.wang@noaa.gov
Date and Time: November 15, 2017, 3:00 PM Eastern
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