Effects of organic effluents from a salmon farm on a fjord system. I. Vertical export and dispersal processes

Abstract

Vertical flux of organic waste from a Norwegian salmon farm (which produced 2910 tonnes of fish in 19 months) located in 230-m-deep water was measured nine times in the course of 2 years by sediment traps along a transect stretching from the farm and 3 km out towards the sea. The chemical composition of the trapped material and the sediment below the traps were analyzed. The results showed that when the fish farm was empty, sedimentation rates of organic matter were similar all along the transect. Throughout the production cycle high and very variable sedimentation rates of particulate organic matter, particulate organic carbon and particulate organic nitrogen were measured within 250 m from the farm, while between 550 and 3000 m away from the farm sedimentation rates were lower and constant throughout the cycle. During the second year of production, the annual vertical flux of particulate organic carbon to the bottom adjacent to the farm was 365 g m − 2 , nine times as high as what was found 3 km away from the farm. While the sedimentation rates showed that most of the waste matter settled within 250 m of the farm, the fatty acid composition and δ 13C isotope ratio of the material in the bottom traps indicate that some components of the organic waste were transported as far as 550 to 900 m, probably due to resuspension of surface sediment. Despite the high sedimentation rates the content of sedimentary organic matter, total organic carbon and total organic nitrogen was not elevated in the sediment around the farm. However, phosphorus was found in higher concentrations in the sediments close to the farm, indicating that organic matter had settled on the sediment and been decomposed. The unchanged content of organic matter in the sediment during the production cycle showed that at this site the local resuspension and dispersal conditions and the decomposition capacity of the benthos were sufficient to prevent overloading of the locality.