Managing marine aquaculture by assessing its contribution to ecosystem services provision: The case of Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis

Assessing the ecosystem services (ESs) provided by marine aquaculture is a promising approach to support policymakers in planning and management processes. Among the different types of marine aquaculture, mussel farming holds the potential to address the dual challenges of delivering food security and providing multiple ESs, emerging as a sustainable human activity and animal protein production. This paper employed a Total Economic Value (TEV) approach to quantify four ESs that were expected to be influenced by Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, aquaculture in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Ionian Sea), including (i) food provision, (ii) carbon sequestration, (iii) nutrient removal, and (iv) local identity. The findings provided valuable data regarding the multifunctionality of mussel aquaculture in providing non-commodity outputs, supporting policy recommendations. Specifically, the results revealed that mussel aquaculture enhances the flow of regulating services, thus demonstrating the overall sustainability of the practices. Local identity emerged as the greatest contributor to the TEV, due to the activity's longstanding tradition in the study area. Economic values per unit of the assessed ESs were provided for implementation in real-world scenarios at the policy level, enabling the transferability of the study's results in a broader international context. The study advocated for integrating the estimated ESs values into decision-making tools and during marine spatial planning processes to operationalize economic valuations. Overall, the findings can be framed within ongoing research efforts aimed at developing innovative methodologies to support the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture (EAA) and to inform decision-making in the context of marine spatial planning.