GIS-Based assessment for culture suitability of kelp (Saccharina japonica) in Sanggou Bay and the surrounding waters

Abstract:

With the expansion of aquaculture, there is an increasing concern regarding issues such as conflicts with multi-sea use, low productivity, and higher economic costs. The selection of suitable sites for aquaculture is essential for utilization of sea space and improvement of the efficiency and profits of aquaculture industry. Kelp (Saccharina japonica) is the main culture species in Sanggou Bay and the surrounding waters. The assessment of suitability for kelp culture has been conducted with factors, including light intensity, water temperature, velocity, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, salinity, and depth. The remote sensing is employed to obtain the information of the existing culture areas. The environment variables were collected from field surveys along with model simulations. The Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model–STELLA model coupled with analytic hierarchy process was applied to calculate weighted-sums of scores for suitability evaluation. The result showed that the suitability scores were 0~6.7 with the main distribution range of 4~6. 23% of area was estimated to be the most suitable for kelp culture, whereas 10% of total study area was not suitable. The high score areas are mainly located in Ailian Bay and Chudao eastern surrounding waters, whereas the low score areas are mainly located in the shallow waters near the shore. The results have provided a guideline to help in site selection and in the management of kelp culture.