Comparison of predicted and measured levels of organic material input from a commercial cage farm in Western Turkey

In this study, two different sediment trap trials were carried out to determine the deposition rate (flux) of particulate organic materials (POM) from marine cage farms. Flux predicted using a commercial software (Meramod), measured almost two-fold higher (1,355.5 g m-2 yr- 1) in 2009 compared to that in 2008 (765.0 g m-2yr-1). Predicted levels of flux were higher than measured values in all trials and ranged between 1,251.6 g m-2 yr-1 in 2008 and 1,811.9 g m-2 yr-1 in 2009. There were also considerable differences in measured and predicted rates of flux at each station. High variations of flux in repeated measures indicated the need for strict control of farm maintenance routines during long-term trap studies. Near bottom current speeds, periodic resuspension events and the presence of wild fish assemblages were considered as major factors that may have effects in predicting the accumulation rates of POM.