Ecological carrying capacity in shellfish culture Operational models of carrying capacity applied to a Norwegian fjord

Abstract

Estimation of production carrying capacity for shellfish culture has become a major focus in research, with operational models applied at culture sites worldwide. Fundamental to these efforts are an understanding of the relationship between nutrients, primary production, and shellfish bioenergetics. The potential for manipulation of nutrients via artificial upwelling has been undertaken in a Norwegian fjord in the CANO Project. Research in this area includes several types of models at varying spatial scales. One of the more useful configurations has been a box model allowing variation in the location of the upweller as well as the sites of mussel culture. In a companion conference paper in by Filgueira and Grant, optimization routines are used to maximize mussel production in the upper fjord based on projected nutrientphytoplankton enhancement by the upweller. The present paper considers the initial stages of a fully spatial companion model where the results can be mapped in detail.