In seafloors with seagrass meadows, meiofauna showed no consistent response to fish-farming. The researchers suggested that the presence of seagrass and the large number of wildlife it attracts could mask the impacts of fish-farming by providing a buffer against the organic matter from the farms reaching the sediment and therefore affecting the meiofauna. However, seagrass itself is known to be highly sensitive to the impacts of humans and the effects of fish-farming on this habitat may be noticeable in the long-term. The researchers suggest that the impact of fish-farming on vegetated and non-vegetated ecosystems should be assessed differently.

Source: DG Environment

(12/02/10)