Assessment of Site Suitability and Capacity for Sustainable Aquaculture Development Along the Northern Persian Gulf Coast

Marine fish cage culture (aquaculture/mariculture) is a rapidly growing food production method globally and in the Persian Gulf, yet it is highly sensitive to site selection. A sustainable approach to site selection can result in nutrient-rich, healthy, and continuous food production yields. Conversely, poor site selection can lead to excessive pollution, low yields, and operational failures, which can severely degrade the coastal/marine environment. Although the Persian Gulf has a history of aquaculture, suitable site identification and capacity assessment remain underexplored. Targeted research is crucial to optimize sustainable aquaculture, supporting both economic and ecological goals. This research presents a comprehensive sustainable method for probing and selecting appropriate sites for mariculture along the northern Persian Gulf coastlines. The selection process considers various factors, including hydrodynamic and meteorological parameters that impose restriction on mariculture practice as well as environmental parameters that affect fish production, potential environmental impacts, infrastructure availability, and the interests of other coastal users. Considerations also include the impact on coastal security, environmentally protected areas, recreational activities, tourism, navigation, and other fishery interests. By integrating all geographic data layers into GIS, suitable areas and potential capacity for the practical implementation of sustainable fish cage culture along the northern Persian Gulf coastlines were revealed. The analysis reveals the identification of six distinct regions along the northern shoreline of the Persian Gulf, encompassing a total area of one million square kilometers. These delineated areas currently are able to facilitate a cage culture production capacity estimated at approximately 200 kilotons per annum.