The Mondego Estuary has a growing aquaculture industry thanks to the quality of its oyster, gilthead seabream, and European seabass farms, and plans to expand to new species such as sole.
This aquaculture industry is expanding and gaining international markets, but it faces the challenge of avoiding the pollutants that can be carried by a river that flows through important urban areas, such as Coimbra and Figueira da Foz, as well as some of the most productive agricultural lands in Portugal.
Key objective: to identify areas suitable for aquaculture expansion
To promote the development of this blue economy activity, the University of Coimbra, with support from the University of A Coruña, will study the hydrodynamic patterns of the estuary using hydraulic and sedimentation models. Yuntas will provide additional support with satellite monitoring and aerial remote sensing.
The result will be hydraulic simulations that will allow for the prediction of flows in the estuary resulting from the interaction between river dynamics and tidal forces, in order to identify potential sites for the expansion of aquaculture activities.
Furthermore, the University of Coimbra will monitor biomarkers present in marine fauna and flora species of the estuary to detect pollutants and analyze their environmental impact. It will also apply machine learning techniques to the remote sensing results to refine hydraulic models and determine whether hydraulic flows carry pollutants out to sea or deposit them at specific points in the estuary where they can be neutralized and/or eliminated.
