Title : When sustainable aquaculture comes to the rescue of environmental preservation: Concrete actions of marine ecological restoration on the french coasts (mediterranean sea)
Abstract:
In a current global context of marine biodiversity loss and fishery resource overexploitation, the French University of Corsica has acquired a new tool to combine research with ecological and coastal engineering: The marine platform STELLAMARE (Sustainable TEchnologies for LittoraL Aquaculture and MArine REsearch). Implemented since 2011, this structure with the support of fishing professionals and specific European funding, allows to initiate in France direct actions in favor of responsible fishing, sustainable aquaculture and restoration of damaged ecosystems. This innovative concept involves a network of researches working in different areas in an objective of sustainable economic development while preserving the most of fishery resources and marine biodiversity using sustainable aquaculture techniques. Advances on these concrete actions will be presented and discussed in the meeting through different examples of applications on: (i) Ecological restoration on overexploited stocks (Sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, Red lobster Palinurus elephas, European oyster Ostrea edulis), (ii) Reduction of the marine biodiversity loss (using Mediterranean fish post-larval stages, creation of artificial nurseries and habitats) and (iii) Biopurification of human-polluted activity areas (marina, aquaculture farms) by the use of organisms from aquaculture.
