The research program “Environmental Sustainability” (RP4) seeks to contribute to some of the most important knowledge gaps regarding environmental and ecological issues affecting the sustainability of Chilean aquaculture. The RP4 team is composed of specialists in ecology, biological oceanography, modeling, physical oceanography and biogeochemistry.
The RP4 program for the INCAR Second Phase (2018-2022) is organized around the following goals:
Goal 1: Promote sustainable aquaculture by improving the understanding of the main ecological and biogeochemical impacts of aquaculture on coastal ecosystems;
Goal 2: Mitigate the negative impact of caligidosis by constructing early warning indicators of parasitoid outbreaks useful to improve the epidemiological management of salmon farms.
Goal 3: Improve the estimation of productive carrying capacity in key Patagonian ecosystems in order to promote sustainable aquaculture; and
Goal 4: Improve understanding of the drivers of HABs in Chilean waters and the role that aquaculture may (or may not) play in their emergence.