The recent expansion of offshore wind power has emphasized conflicts among different stakeholders. This need for more efficient use of marine area has highlighted the potential for multi-use, i.e. the use of area for more than one purpose. A quaculture of low-trophic species (LT) (non-fed aquaculture) appears as an attractive way to increase sustainable biomass production. Additionally, LT species such as bivalves or seaweeds provided diverse ecosystem services such as the removal of nutrients or water clarity. Thereby, LTA can improve water quality and deliver ecosystem services, while contributing to the circular bioeconomy. As such activities may be combined in the same area, there has been considerable interest in developing multi-use systems for both industries, contributing to a range of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In the OLAMUR project, w e are developing initiatives for multi-use involving low-trophic aquaculture (LTA) in the Baltic and North Seas. with offshore wind, combined with cultivation of mussels and seaweeds. The Baltic case is situated at Kriegers Flak, in the Danish sector, and the North Sea case is north of the island of Helgoland in the German sector. At both sites, large scale offshore wind farms have been developed and are now in the production phase. The Baltic case started seaweed cultivation in 2023, and mussel cultivation in 2024, and the German case starts in 2024. A third multi-use case study, in Estonian waters, combines cultivation of seaweeds and mussels with rainbow trout farming.
OLAMUR runs a databased service system to assist policymakers in making knowledge based decisions, and an extensive Data Management Plan ensures transparent and standardized data capture from all parts of the project.