Aquaculture Ecosystem Interactions and Management

Aquaculture has become one of the fastest-growing food-production sectors worldwide, intersecting closely with natural ecosystems. Cultured species—from finfish to shellfish and seaweeds—contribute to nutrient cycling, habitat structure and food-web dynamics. While nutrient inputs from feed and faecal matter can lead to localised eutrophication beneath finfish cages, extractive systems such as mussel and seaweed farms can attenuate nutrient loads through bioextraction. Infrastructure associated with aquaculture also acts as artificial reef, attracting wild fauna and altering species assemblages. These interactions produce both ecological risks—such as sediment alteration, disease transmission and genetic introgression—and benefits, including habitat restoration, water-quality improvement and carbon sequestration. Effective management hinges on integrated spatial planning, rigorous environmental monitoring and adaptive ecosystem-based frameworks that balance production goals with conservation objectives. By combining empirical field studies, modelling and socioeconomic assessment, stakeholders can optimise site selection, minimise adverse impacts and enhance the delivery of ecosystem services from aquaculture systems on a global scale.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Aquaculture Ecosystem Interactions and Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in aquaculture ecosystem interactions and management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Ecosystem services: Benefits provided by ecological processes to humans, including nutrient cycling and habitat provision.

Biogenic reef: A habitat structure created by living organisms (for example, mussel shells) that enhances local biodiversity.

Bioextraction: The uptake and removal of dissolved nutrients or contaminants from water by cultured organisms, such as bivalves and seaweeds.

Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) approach: An experimental design comparing environmental conditions before and after an activity at both impact and control sites to determine its effects.

References

1. Biogenic reef creation and biodiversity enhancement by an offshore longline mussel farm. Ecological Indicators (2024).
2. Achieving conservation and restoration outcomes through ecologically beneficial aquaculture. Conservation Biology (2023).
3. Offshore aquaculture: Spatial planning principles for sustainable development. Ecology and Evolution (2016).
4. Attraction and repulsion of mobile wild organisms to finfish and shellfish aquaculture: a review. Reviews in Aquaculture (2017).
5. A global spatial analysis reveals where marine aquaculture can benefit nature and people. PLOS ONE (2019).
6. Sustainable growth of non-fed aquaculture can generate valuable ecosystem benefits. Ecosystem Services (2022).
7. An ecosystem-based approach and management framework for the integrated evaluation of bivalve aquaculture impacts. Aquaculture Environment Interactions (2012).