Research and development will use existing local and regional datasets, ongoing Chinese field programs, archived and contemporary satellite imagery, with limited additional field and experimental measurements. Complementary workpackages will establish the interactions between catchment use and coastal zone. Work will focus on fluxes of nutrients, organic matter and sediments, including exchanges at the seaward boundary and the role of ecological processes. Component models will describe the interactions both between cultivated species and with their environments, taking into account different levels of human interaction (e.g. resource exploitation, basin water management practices, and sewage discharge).
Integrated modelling will permit the dynamic coupling of economic drivers responsible for social issues (over-exploitation, usage conflicts) with our ecological models, resolving inter-relations with the natural system. This will allow realistic testing of 3 contrasting management scenarios. Particular emphasis will be placed on how integrated multi-species aquaculture (=polyculture) may be used to restore and optimize sustainability by internalizing environmental costs.
Datasets and research models will be used to conceptualise, parameterise and test screening models, which distil the knowledge obtained from the integrated system analysis into simple and practical diagnostic management tools. Model validation and technology transfer will be ensured through stakeholder involvement in project management, including experimental manipulation at culture unit test sites.