Assessing the Potential of Minho and Lima Estuaries for Aquaculture

This work aims the identification of the best potential areas to develop aquaculture activities in Minho and Lima estuaries, especially for the species with the highest commercial value. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology was applied to the results of an annual simulation with Delft3D model ( including the hydrodynamic and water quality modules). After, each variable used in AHP was crossed with the environmental thresholds for development/growth of one bivalve (Portuguese Oyster) and one fish (Gilthead Seabream) species. In this way, an Exploration Index (EI) was defined in order to identify the most suitable regions according to water biophysical properties. This EI was mapped for both estuaries and results show that, in general, the low and middle estuaries present the best conditions for aquaculture development of bivalve and fish. In addition, the upper areas of both estuaries are unsuitable for aquaculture, due to the low salinity of these regions.