Growth in shellfish, marine finfish and seaweed production is being promoted aggressively in China to offset pressure on near-shore fisheries and to meet the country’s rising seafood demand. Researchers will develop integrated hydrodynamic, sediment transport, and ecological models to examine the potential impacts of large-scale mariculture (the use of pens, cages and drift lines for seafood production) on coastal processes and wild fisheries. With the direct involvement of leading aquaculture and marine scientists in China, the project aims to improve the siting and monitoring of coastal mariculture operations, and to provide policy guidance on intensive mariculture development that is compatible with the rehabilitation of wild fish stocks.