Adaptations to climate changes in aquaculture

Background

The European aquaculture sector is increasingly vulnerable to the complex and compounding effects of climate change. Rising water temperatures, extreme weather events, ocean acidification, and shifting precipitation patterns are disrupting aquatic ecosystems and threatening the viability of fish, shellfish, and seaweed farming. These environmental stressors are leading to reduced water quality, increased disease outbreaks, and higher mortality rates in farmed species. At the same time, the authorities are imposing stricter environmental requirements on the industry.

These conditions mean that the industry must take action. The OCCAM project has been established to help the industry address these challenges and adapt to climate change.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to identify and develop ready-to-use solutions and provide advice that can be utilised by a wide range of stakeholders in the aquaculture industry – either directly or as a basis for further development.

The solutions should be scalable, replicable, and innovative, yet simple enough to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What we do

We will develop twelve innovative solutions for different aquaculture species and environments, as well as four cross-sectoral solutions that together help to reduce the climate footprint of the aquaculture industry.

The project covers aquaculture in freshwater, seawater, and land-based aquaculture facilities, and targets the following species:

• Salmon
• Trout
• Carp
• Mussels
• Oysters
• Kelp

Nofima coordinates OCCAM, and leads the work on exploitation and uptake of OCCAM solutions in policy and in practice. We also work with the dissemination of project results.

Contact

Petter Olsen

Senior Scientist
+47 77 62 92 31