In spite of significant technological  advances, aquaculture remains an activity which depends on the  conditions and resources of the environment in which it is done.  Aquaculture can have an impact on the environment yet, at the same  time, is affected by and reflects all the impacts on the environment created by other human activities.

In a survey carried out by GESAMP on  'The state of the marine environment ‘, aquaculture is considered as one of the many human activities affecting the sea. Without being  exhaustive, the same survey cites many examples that cause  degradation of the marine environment, notably:

• development of coastal areas,
• discharge of waste water,  industrial wastes and sewage sludge,
• transportation of hazardous substances including oil,
• exploitation of non-living resources such as oil. gas and  other minerals,
• exploitation of living marine resources.

Nevertheless, it is not simply sufficient to list the activities  that can have the potential for harmful impact, one has to identify  and quantify the specific responsibilities with regard to the  environment, while maintaining the correct perspective of the  potential importance of the pollutant.

A distinction must also be made between those activities  which are unaffected by environmental degradation and those which  are. An oil tanker that dumps oil at sea runs the risk of legal  sanctions but does not damage itself. On the other hand, marine aquaculture is highly sensitive to growing levels of pollution, due  to a wide variety of causes, including any that it creates  itself.

It is therefore essential that aquaculture is developed in the  respect of its environment, in order to be able to survive and to  remain economically viable, so assuring its long term survival.

Within the EU aquaculture industry, emphasis for development is  placed on a number of issues:

• Scientific research applied to the development of reliable  methods of treating waste water from intensive fish farms,
• the improvement of feed composition to  increase total digestibility and thus reduce organic waste,
• The trend towards developing semi-intensive aquaculture  projects that are compatible with maintaining wetlands important  for nature conservation at a favourable conservation status,
• The development of marine production units which can operate  in offshore sites (usually in deep sea) where currents are strong.
• Increased fundamental research on farmed populations and on the  effects of breeding programmes for both selective rearing and for  preservation projects.

These  are all aspirations whose achievement will support the current  prospects for aquaculture to maintain sustainable growth, both in  inland and in coastal areas, without causing significant harm to the  environment. Naturally, the basis for balancing aquaculture  development and environmental protection involves a combination of  education, information, management and legislation which must be  based on valid and contemporary scientific knowledge. Aquamedia will continue to develop this section in order to describe the present and developing state of knowledge on the  interactions between aquaculture and the environment.