Into the Wild: Farm‐Derived Energy and Nutrients Enter Marine Food Webs With Carrying Capacity Implications for Aquaculture Management

Marine aquaculture is expanding globally, yet its interactions with surrounding ecosystems remain complex and insufficiently understood. This study reviews the fluxes of energy and nutrients from three major aquaculture systems: finfish cages, suspended bivalves, and seaweed farms and considers their implications for ecosystem functioning and management under the ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA). Using a focused literature review and expert input from International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), Working Group on Ecological Carrying Capacity of Aquaculture (ICES WGECCA), we synthesized data on farm derived fluxes, trophic transfers, and ecological consequences. From this synthesis, we developed three conceptual models illustrating direct and indirect pathways of energy and nutrient exchange between farms and marine food webs. Seven case studies from temperate and subtropical systems were analyzed to exemplify site specific effects, including organic enrichment, altered benthic pelagic coupling, and changes in wild species assemblages. Key findings highlight that fed aquaculture (finfish) releases substantial particulate and dissolved waste, influencing benthic geochemistry, while extractive systems (bivalves, seaweeds) modulate nutrient cycling. Integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) offers the potential for synergistic flux recycling within the farm system. Wild mobile fauna attracted to farm systems shelter and feed directly on the farmed product, fouling, or particulate wastes and dislodgements from the farm, thereby strengthening farm environment coupling. These insights underscore the need for adaptive management and carrying capacity (CC) assessments that account for energy nutrient fluxes to ensure sustainable aquaculture development aligned with EAA principles.