AAAG2 will help ensure that aquaculture can continue to grow and provide much needed economic activity in isolated Atlantic Area coastal communities while at the same time ensuring natural habitats are protected. Specific sub-projects are aimed at: -Reducing estuarine pollution by using waste nutrients from cage and land-based fish farms to produce valuable secondary crops such as samphire, sea urchins and seaweeds; -Helping to conserve the richness and the diversity of coastal zones and wetlands of the Atlantic area through the rehabilitation of degraded, marshy wetlands for use in extensive, low-impact sole farming; -Promoting ecologically sensitive, integrated practices by advancing the culture techniques for a range of new candidate species to diversify the aquaculture industry and encourage a move away from intensive monoculture; -Helping to minimize the impact of aquaculture on wild populations through the management of marine genetic resources (biodiversity), with particular reference to the European flat oyster. The project will promote an integrated, cross-sector approach to sustainable aquaculture through knowledge transfer between centres and sectors. Printed and electronic media will be used for rapid dissemination of results to industry to disperse new techniques and gain wide recognition for the project’s achievements. The goal of AAAG2 is to form a long-term resource for the aquaculture industry and its legislators on the western seaboard of Europe and beyond, becoming a recognised European Centre of Excellence. Achievements: Main results of the project: ✔ A trans-national network of researchers with close ties to industrial agencies and policy makers that will achieve the status of a European Centre of Excellence. ✔ A clear set of strategies and guidelines for sustainable aquaculture in the Atlantic Area; ✔ A set of reports and handbooks, with varying levels of technical complexity, to mainstream the project results among different stakeholders in the aquaculture industry; ✔ Tools for controlling pollution at caged fish farm sites; ✔ Tools for rehabilitating intertidal, degraded areas through low-intensity aquaculture; ✔ Techniques for strengthening the emerging aquaculture industry by diversifying its output; ✔ Tools for modelling the environmental impacts of integrated aquaculture operations.