Assessment of nutrient trading services from bivalve farming

Abstract

This review examines key aspects of bivalve services, with a dual emphasis on commercial production and eutrophication control, and explores how the two can be combined by means of market instruments. Our focus is on regulatory trading services, in particular on ways in which nutrient credits can be traded for improved water quality management and better food security. We provide budgets for nutrient loading in Europe, North America, and China, factoring in point and non-point loading, and assess the contribution of finfish aquaculture. We then review the role of commercially cultivated bivalves for the same geographic areas, to assess the scope of combining farmed bivalves and top-down control of symptoms of nutrient enrichment. Water quality trading has existed as a concept for the past 40 years, but it can claim few success stories; we examine some of the challenges and potential solutions, as well as practical implementations, with a focus on non-point trading, for mitigation of diffuse nutrient loading. Finally, we discuss options for different indicators, and provide examples of how an assessment can be made, including the valuation of regulatory services provided by commercially grown bivalves. We conclude that the role of bivalves in nutrient credit trading programmes should form an integral part of ecosystem-based management. From the perspective of aquaculture enhancement, which is fundamental for improved food security, this is a triple-win, providing competitiveness of agriculture, eco-intensification of aquaculture, and greater consumer safety.