On-site research about combination of seaweed culture and mussel rope culture. 

Seaweed has in the last years become booming. It can be a sustainable source of food, feed and components in many applications. More and more seaweed farmers are looking for locations to produce seaweed off shore and nearshore. Several studies have shown that the space in the southwestern Delta of the Netherlands is very limited. It turns out that most possibilities lies in using the open space (30% not used) at mussel rope cultures plots for seaweed. Theoretically the organisms mussel and seaweed (both lower in the food chain) may have a possible influence on each other. On the other hand there also may negative feedback loops between the two.

In the so-called ZEEMOS project  (TKI Delta Technology and Living Lab Schouwen Duiveland) different seaweed and mussel rope culture farmers are testing the possible and negative mutual effects on 3 different production locations (Lake Veere, Oosterschelde, North Sea). In this three year project HZ University of Applied Sciences we, in the first year, characterized the three production locations in terms of nutrient and microalgae concentrations, retention time and other water quality parameters. This was carried out by the combination of online sensoring and large measuring campaigns. In the second and third year HZ will perform larger manipulative experiments to determine how different combinations of seaweed and mussels effect production, and on-site water quality and hydrodynamics.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and flexible student. You will focus on the monitoring in the production locations: carrying out field measurements (such as monitoring the growth of seaweed), and analyzing and interpreting data we already collected in the previous year. There are also possibilities to help out with ongoing field- or lab- research and monitoring within other aquaculture related projects.

University: HZ University Of Applied Sciences, Vlissingen (Province of Zealand)
Research type: field- & lab-work, data analysis.
Research level: internship / minor (potentially)
Perquisite: affinity with aquaculture (shellfish and seaweed), water quality and aquatic ecology and data processing. 
Partners: local mussel and seaweed  famers, knowledge partners
Researcher involved:  Jouke Heringa, Lotte Niemeijer
Period: January 2023 – June 2023
Status: open
Compensation: € 400 p.m. (internship)