The project aims to investigate if and how rainbow trout and Arctic charr can be farmed sustainably in hydropower dams in northern Sweden from a biological, ecological, social and economical perspective.
The project aims to investigate whether and how char and rainbow trout can be farmed in a sustainable way in existing power plant ponds in Norrland's hinterland - from a biological, ecological, social and economic perspective.
The damming of power plant dams has altered the ecosystem, reducing the contribution of the littoral zone to lake food webs. This, combined with a depletion of nutrients in our inland waters, can reduce the productivity of the pond ecosystem. In the project, the researchers will study whether the introduction of new nutrients to the pond from fish farming can help to counteract this development.
The natural science part of the project aims to understand how fish farming in power plant ponds affects the ecosystem. In other parts of the project, the potential for fish farming to produce useful food and create new jobs in the Norrland hinterland will be investigated. The program extends over five years and is a collaboration between all of SLU's faculties, SVA, the industry organization Matfiskodlarna, the hydropower industry and civil society in the form of the Rural Network.
To investigate the ecosystem of the power plant dam in order to create a basis for future management plans based on a holistic understanding.
To see if power plant ponds with open-cage fish farming differ from similar power plant ponds that have not had fish farming.
To evaluate whether fish farming in open cages can contribute to good and healthy food, as well as new jobs in Norrland's hinterland, without risking conservation values.
More specifically, the project will investigate how the farmed fish manure is transformed in the pond and affects the water. Fish, benthic fauna, microflora in water and sediment samples from the power plant pond will be analyzed to understand how the nutrients from aquaculture are taken up in the aquatic food webs. The project will also investigate specific pathogenic bacteria in the water systems. Today, there is a lack of knowledge about the spread of these bacteria in nature and the research program will, among other things, study whether there is any risk of infection between the wild and the farmed fish.
The project will also work with life cycle analyses of relevant issues for Swedish aquaculture in power plant ponds, such as the environmental effects of fish feed with raw materials from the Baltic Sea or local cycles or effects at the consumer level of increased Swedish fish farming.
The information and data generated in the project will be used in social and environmental system analyses and the program will build a common knowledge base on fish farming for academia, companies and authorities. The initiative also provides great opportunities to develop a sustainable business model for entrepreneurs in the field.
In addition to the internal SLU partners working within the project, the project group also includes important external partners:
A more detailed description of the biology of the modern power plant dam and its possible relation to fish farming is given in the report “Fiskodling i norr: en livsmedelsproduktion med miljöpotential” by A. Kiessling and M. Futter in collaboration with researchers at SLU and Umeå University (Rapportserie SLU 309).