Professor Bela Buck

Biography

Bela Hieronymus Buck studied neurophysiology and marine biology at the University of Bremen, at the Institute for Marine Research in Kiel and at the Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT) in Bremen (all in Germany). In the years 1999/2000 he was involved in research projects concerning the aquaculture of giant clams at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), the James Cook University and the Australian Institute for Marine Science (AIMS) in Townsville (all in Australia) in which he got is graduation as a marine biologist. Onwards, he worked in a research project at the Center for Tropical Marine Ecology concerning underwater movies and the evaluation of recordings of particle flow in Aqaba (Jordan). As freelance consultant he prepared a feasibility study concerning the multifunctional use of offshore wind farms and open ocean aquaculture in the North Sea for the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven (Germany). From 2001 to 2004 he was a PhD candidate at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and the University of Bremen studying various aspects of offshore aquaculture related to technology, biology, legislation and integrated coastal zone management issues within the German North Sea. His oral defence was on 18th January 2005 with the grade of excellent (highest distinction). From February 2005 Dr. Bela H. Buck was PostDoc at the AWI and is the head of the working group “Marine Aquaculture, Maritime Technologies and ICZM”. He was responsible to establish a new institute, IMARE - the Institute for Marine Resources, in which he is the head of the section “Marine Aquaculture for responsible fisheries”. In July 2007 he was given a cooperation professorship for “Applied Marine Biology” from the University of Applied Sciences in Bremerhaven and the AWI. Since 2009 he represents a member of the directory Board of IMARE GmbH. He is responsible for the new land-based recirculation technology plant (2.66 Mio US $) for aquaculture research, which is under construction.

Today, Bela H. Buck is involved in various projects concerning the cultivation of marine plants and animals, the development of new technological design and the realisation of pilot projects to commercial enterprises. He is in cooperation with various national as well as international institutions.

Bela H. Buck won three prices during his scientific career: (1) for interdisciplinary research from the Chamber of Commerce in Bremen, (2) for the best Thesis of the Year 2004 (AWI) and (3) for being the inventor of the year 2005 (AWI).

Abstract

Along the East Atlantic Coast and especially within the North Sea region the coastal sea hosts a highly competitive group of uses, i.e. shipping (trade or private), sand extraction or disposal, navy practice areas, offshore oil exploration as well as areas which are sectioned off for specific purposes, e.g. pipelines, cables, wind farms, nature reserves and other marine and coastal protected areas. Recreational activities as well as commercial fisheries and mariculture are additional interests that deserve attention. Due to these extremely multi-faceted uses space allocation is a source for potential conflicts. This situation has highlighted the need for sufficient regulations to optimize the management of the marine resource within a multi-use context. This need has been further triggered by the movement to offshore areas, where little spatial regulations have been established so far and seemingly less stakeholder conflicts exist.

The limited space available for new activities, especially in the coastal zone, calls for new management initiatives, which follow the principle of equitable sustainable development, in which the social ecological system complex of the coastal sea as well as the open ocean will be maintained and its resilience enhanced in the light of future changes.