
Climate Change can affect the ability to achieve good productivity and aquaculture development. For example, increased temperatures can affect productivity both positively (higher winter temperatures) and negatively (extreme pond water temperatures). Also, climate change can affect fishmeal fisheries and reduce availability of related ingredients for aquaculture feeds, although a positive downside to this is that aquaculture can be forced to reduce its dependency on these fisheries.
Climate changes are already being recorded such as more frequent and stronger typhoons, long dry spells resulting to droughts, frequent heavy rains resulting to severe flooding are some of the phenomena that are linked to climate change. These changes are projected to impact broadly across ecosystems and economies, increasing pressures on all livelihoods and food supply chains, including those in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
Climate change is a compounding threat to the sustainability of aquaculture development. Impacts occur as a result of gradual warming, the increasing acidity of the oceans and associated physical and chemical changes as well as from frequency, intensity and location of extreme climatic events. How these changes affect the aquaculture organisms in general, the different aquaculture systems and structures, the various support systems to aquaculture operations, and to the fish farmers, are largely unknown.
Climate change adaptation measures need to be developed so that farmers can cope with the increasing climate change impacts.
|