Investigation of Suitable Areas for Integrated Multi-Trophic Culture of Kappaphycus alvarezii and Crassostrea gigas in Santa Elena-Ecuador

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization the mariculture has generated interest in recent years due to its importance in obtaining foods of high nutritional value for the growing world population. In Ecuador, the aim is to promote the diversification of the aquaculture sector, so this project goals to identify potential areas for the multi-trophic cultivation of Kappaphycus alvarezii and Crassostrea gigas, in Santa Elena – Ecuador. To enhance the production of these species spatial planning is necessary, based on the biological requirements of the organisms to be cultivated, the current legal regulations and considering possible conflicts of use. Nine environmental and socio- economic criteria were identified and obtained, making use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing. Subsequently, the reclassification of these criteria was carried out based on the optimal cultivation ranges of both species, to finally continue with the Boolean superposition of layers, resulting in a map showing the areas suitable for cultivation. These results indicate that multi-criteria analysis offers an overview that is important for decision-making within integrated coastal management and spatial planning.