Introducing the EO4SA Project

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global consumption of fish has increased by 122% since 1990 and aquaculture now accounts for more than 50% of current fish consumption. Aquaculture thus offers an additional supply of human food resources, as well as an alternative to overfishing, and is therefore a means to meet the growing global demand for (sea)food via a low carbon footprint protein source. The Earth Observations for Sustainable Aquaculture (EO4SA) project aims to enhance the sustainability of the aquaculture industry by providing Earth Observation based products and services.

The project will focus on four Use Cases, which cover: fish mortality due to salmon lice outbreaks, the impact of toxic Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) on shellfish farming, multi-use of coastal areas, and the detection and mapping of aquaculture activities. These factors or the environmental conditions associated with them are possible to monitor by EO, and therefore we can develop innovative EO high-level indicators and products for supporting sustainable development and management. 

Each Use Case has a number of Early Adopters, who are key stakeholders in each area, who will work closely with the project to define and develop the EO indicators and products. We will work with a range of relevant users, from large seafood companies, to local governments; these organisations can be found on the Partners page. They will test the project outputs and give feedback throughout the lifetime of the project. 

This project is funded by the European Space Agency and led by Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) with Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) as a partner. It is part of the wider ESA Blue Economy initiative, funded alongside complementary projects on Fisheries, Renewable Energy, and Tourism, under ESA's EO Science for Society Programme. 

Bottom photo: Mussel harvesting by one of our Early Adopter stakeholders. Credit: Norgeskjell.