Impacts of a marine fish farm in Argolikos Gulf (Greece) on the water column and the sediment

The aim of this study was the qualitative and quantitative assessment of impacts on the physicochemical characteristics of the water column and the sediment caused by an intensive marine fish farm. The study area was the Plateia Island which is located in an open seawater area in the outer part of Argolikos Gulf (Northeastern Peloponnese, Greece). The particular plant has been in operation since 1988, producing about 350-400 tons per year of Gilthead seabream (Sparus auratus) and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax). The samples were taken on a three-season period started in August 2001 and ended in May 2002. During this study, the main physical and geochemical parameters on the water column and the sediment were investigated. Specifically, the parameters that were measured included: ammonium-nitrogen, phosphate and suspended solids in the water column and organic matter, organic carbon, and phosphorus (total and inorganic) in the sediment samples. The conclusions drawn from this work clearly verify that the most important impacts, mainly identified as increased nutrients and organics concentrations both in the water column and the sediment, were realized at the stations closest to the farm. These concentrations gradually decreased with increasing distance from the cages. The peak values in most of the parameters measured were obtained during summer or spring. However, it has to be mentioned that although the measured concentrations clearly depict the influence of the fish farm especially on the sediment, their values were, in general, considerably lower than those reported in relative studies in Greek fish farms.