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13 pages, 3 tables, 5 figures, The COVID-19 global pandemic has had severe, unpredictable and synchronous impacts on all levels of perishable food supply chains (PFSC), across multiple sectors and spatial scales. Aquaculture plays a vital and rapidly expanding role in food security, in some cases overtaking wild caught fisheries in the production of high-quality animal protein in this PFSC. We performed a rapid global assessment to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related emerging control measures on the aquaculture supply chain. Socio-economic effects of the pandemic were analysed by surveying the perceptions of stakeholders, who were asked to describe potential supply-side disruption, vulnerabilities and resilience patterns along the production pipeline with four main supply chain components: a) hatchery, b) production/processing, c) distribution/logistics and d) market. We also assessed different farming strategies, comparing land- vs. sea-based systems; extensive vs. intensive methods; and with and without integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, IMTA. In addition to evaluating levels and sources of economic distress, interviewees were asked to identify mitigation solutions adopted at local / internal (i.e., farm-site) scales, and to express their preference on national / external scale mitigation measures among a set of a priori options. Survey responses identified the potential causes of disruption, ripple effects, sources of food insecurity, and socio-economic conflicts. They also pointed to various levels of mitigation strategies. The collated evidence represents a first baseline useful to address future disaster-driven responses, to reinforce the resilience of the sector and to facilitate the design reconstruction plans and mitigation measures, such as financial aid strategies, M.C.M.'s research activity was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (Grant agreement no. 835589, MIRROR Project). People at the Laboratory of Ecology have been funded by the PRIN-MAHRES project (Ministry of Italian Research; MUR - 017MHHWBN_003 Linea C) and by the Interreg Italia-Malta HARMONY 2016 (Grant C1-3.1-31). C. Pita and A. Nogueira would like to thank FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020), through national funds. J.M.F. Babarro thanks project PID2019-106008RB-C21 for support through Spanish Government funds. The authors would like to thank also the ERASMUS+-FISHAQU project (No. 610071-EPP-1-2019-1-PT-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP)

As an alternative to the use of edible crops as raw materials or the use of lignocellulosic materials for production of the second-generation biofuels, macroalgae biomass has potential as a sugar resource for the production of third-generation biofuels. As higher amounts of biomass are required for this endeavor, commercial cultivation of brown algae is necessary to avoid overexploitation of natural populations. The macroalgae species contain different kinds of polysaccharides and pretreatment is necessary to make them available using different strategies. The most abundant sugars in brown algae are alginate, mannitol, and glucan; whereby the degradation of these polysaccharides requires specific enzymes for the release of monosaccharides. Monosaccharides are most efficiently fermented into ethanol by engineered microorganisms, but as recently demonstrated, both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli strains have this capability also. Saccharification and fermentation steps can be carried out in different configurations. This chapter presents a review of each step of the process for bioethanol production from brown algae.

Kelp cultivation started in Japan, China and Korea, mainly for human consumption; new applications are still expanding. In Chile, three ‘wild’ Lessonia species and Macrocystis pyrifera are under a strong and increasing pressure of exploitation mainly for alginate production and as a source of feed for abalone. Regulatory restrictions for kelp exploitation and the increased demand for biomass provided a positive environment for the installation of a kelp farming industry. Pilot-production studies demonstrated that 200 tonnes (fresh)/ha/year can be achieved and genetic diversity and breeding studies suggested that this volume could be increased. Kelp disease research is a necessary condition for securing the future development of this industry, as are environmental studies on the impacts of large-scale aquaculture. Beyond the positive bioremediation, ecosystem service effects that kelp farming can provide, especially in a region such as in southern Chile, where intensive salmon and mussel cultivation occurs. Life Cycle Assessment suggests that the energy returns on investment in kelp farming are positive, but more detailed data are still required.

Aquaculture has developed rapidly over the past decades and this trend will probably continue as capture fisheries are in global decline. However, aquaculture is now at a crossroad and there are many critical aspects of its sustainability that need to be addressed like the introduction of organic and inorganic waste into the environment increasing the risk of eutrophication and pollution; introduction of diseases and escapees in the ecosystem affecting biodiversity; and increased risk of overfishing by the increased demand for fishmeal and oils. Therefore, it is important to develop new approaches to achieve an environmentally balanced food supply. In this context, ecological engineering is an emerging field, which uses ecological processes within natural or constructed systems to achieve environmental goals. The most basic ecological engineering approaches are based on the capabilities of unmanipulated organisms to respond by enhancing the assimilation of the wastes produced by aquaculture practices. On the other hand, emerging technologies allow balancing the relative abundance of organisms with different ecosystem functions to avoid disruption by the introduction of massive fed aquaculture species into coastal areas. We emphasize the importance of integrated multitrophic aquaculture as a possible solution to not only treat organic particulate and inorganic dissolved nutrients but also to produce other valuable crops, which, when harvested, participate in removing the converted nutrients from the coastal seas. As environmental costs (externalities) are not presently internalized by business companies, there are no major economic drivers promoting the introduction of ecological engineering tools that would help to control, reduce, and minimize the environmental effects of aquaculture. Regulatory and financial incentives are, therefore, required to recognize the benefits of ecological engineering approaches. To achieve these goals, public acceptance through education and government actions for developing appropriate regulations taking into consideration the services provided by extractive species are needed.

The seafood industry is at a crossroads: while capture fisheries are stagnating in volume and decreasing in profitability, they are also falling short of world demand, as the annual consumption of seafood has been rising, doubling over the last three decades. As this trend is expected to persist, the importance of aquaculture, as the solution for providing the difference between the demand and the biomass available, could increase. The majority of aquaculture production still originates from extensive and semi-intensive systems; however, the rapid development of intensive marine fed aquaculture (e.g., carnivorous finfish and shrimp) throughout the world, even though it represents only 11%, is associated with concerns about the environmental, economic, and social impacts these often monospecific practices can have. To continue to grow, the aquaculture sector needs to develop innovative, responsible, sustainable, and profitable practices. This article examines some of the different options available to face these challenges (geographical expansion, intensification of the existing sites, diversification, social acceptance) and recognizes that changes in attitudes are needed and innovative practices have to be developed for further advancement. One of these options is integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA), which combines the cultivation of fed aquaculture species (e.g., finfish) with inorganic extractive aquaculture species (e.g., seaweed) and organic extractive aquaculture species (e.g., shellfish) for a balanced ecosystem management approach. Through IMTA, some of the food and energy considered lost in fed monoculture operations are recaptured and converted into crops of commercial value (extractive plants and animals), while biomitigation takes place. Several examples of IMTA systems in different parts of the world are described to illustrate the concept. For IMTA to develop from the experimental scale to sustainable commercial food production systems, appropriate regulatory and policy frameworks, and financial incentive tools, which recognize the economic value and environmental benefits of biomitigation services by biofilters, need to be put in place.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a qualitative and quantitative description of protected rocky intertidal habitats subject to high tidal amplitudes. It discusses biotic and abiotic factors that affect the distribution and abundance patterns of macroalgae in these ecosystems. Wave-protected ecosystems with high tidal amplitudes have a very different structure from those of the intertidal systems existing along the Chilean coast. The high tidal amplitudes together with the wave-protected conditions explain that these intertidal ecosystems are exposed to air for longer periods and that the absence of wave splash additionally increases dessication effects. Experimental evidence indicates that both abiotic and biotic factors have important ecological consequences for the algal communities in these protected ecosystems; the herbivores have an effect on the abundance of Ulvoids but do not affect algal successional sequences.

Summary Urban planning concerned with traffic problems in the City of Bonn required a study of the state of conservation of the famous Old Cemetery. A survey of the state of the tombstone materials has been conducted on the basis of phenomenological criteria. On this basis rough estimates of the damage development in the coming decades have been made, a) at unchanged environmental conditions and b) at increased immission due to higher traffic density.