PERSUADE

The PERSUADE project aims to investigate how a combination of local activities can influence the coastal ecosystem in an environment that is also subject to the consequences of global climate change. The main focus is on energy generation in offshore wind farms combined with aquaculture.
Status
Past
Duration
Jan 2017 - Dec 2021
Type
DBC as an observer, National project

PERSUADE is an acronym for “ExPERimental approaches towards Future Sustainable Use of North Sea Artificial HarD SubstratEs” and the project aims to better understand the impact of multi-use at sea, and more specifically the combination of offshore wind and aquaculture. With these new insights, the consortium aims to develop a model that allows to better assess the ecological impact of aquaculture.

Both global and local changes affect biodiversity and marine ecosystem functioning. Both lead to shifts in the food web and biogeochemical cycles, which in turn translate into potential changes in the ecosystem services provided by the coastal ecosystem. 

PERSUADE combines ecosystem-wide experiments, experiments with model species that are very common on wind turbines and in the seabed in wind farms, as well as genetic tools and model development. The final ecological model will allow us to assess how the coastal ecosystem will respond to the changing interactions between species and their environment expected as a result of the cumulative pressure on the ecosystem.

On the one hand, the project will contribute to the development of indicators of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Descriptors 2, 4 and 6). On the other hand, the project will provide scientific support for decisions regarding the development of aquaculture projects in combination with offshore wind farms. The projects results can also be included in EIA studies of new wind farms to be developed.

Partners: RBINS (MARECO), Ghent University (Research Group Marine Biology) and Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)

With the support of: Belspo (Belgian Science Policy Office)

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