Abstract
Aquaculture site selection, like most site suitability analyses, requires the assembly and combination of multiple variables. Geographic information systems GIS and multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) based approaches are commonly used for aquaculture site selection and demonstrate the integration of various information sources relevant for siting aquaculture. These analyses, however, tend to be one-time and result in a fixed site suitability plan. Within a dynamic marine environment experiencing potential regime shifts, a siting support tool that integrates new and evolving spatio-temporal data has benefits. This paper presents a flexible Voronoi cell-based GIS model for marine aquaculture siting. Rather than a one-time specification of suitable locations, the approach uses similarity measures on the characteristics of Voronoi cells to find cells with similar characteristics. We calculate a weighted aquaculture site tenure value for Voronoi cells that have been or are occupied by aquaculture farm sites. High scoring cells suggest suitable sites and serve as targets for similarity queries. We apply the approach to a case study on the coast of Maine using an R Shiny application to demonstrate the use of the framework for finding sites with similar characteristics.
Highlights
Aquaculture production is expected to increase globally in response to expanding populations, growing demand for fish protein [1], and decreasing wild-catch fisheries [2]
We focus on the midcoast region which is the most active
We implemented the framework as an R Shiny web applicatioTnh(esereeshultttspos:f//trhsihs iwnoy.rskpaarteiaalmGsISk-.bcaosmed/CfroasmSiemw/o)r.kInthsatet asdupopfogrtesnaeqruataicnugltustraetliecassueiotarbliiclietnysemaps, the desviteloepveadlufartaiomnewbyorpkrsousppepcotirvtes ifnatremraecrsti.vWe qeuiemripelseomnenthteedVothroenforiamcheawraocrtkeraizsaatinonRzoSnheinsy
Summary
Aquaculture production is expected to increase globally in response to expanding populations, growing demand for fish protein [1], and decreasing wild-catch fisheries [2]. The United States (US) enjoys a unique position for growth in its marine production. A recent Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) study noted it among the top countries with the potential for profitably expanding marine aquaculture production [3]. Conflicts across limited coastal space may serve as a limiting factor to this growth potential. Identifying available areas that are suitable has become a critical concern for supporting and expanding aquaculture [4]. The importance of the site selection process has been widely recognized in recent reports and research publications [5,6]
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