“Towards Improving Climate Resilience of Aquaculture and Fisheries in the Blue Economy”

The global population is expected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, requiring a 60% increase in additional food production. Traditional land-based agriculture consumes more than half of all arable land and 70 percent of the world’s freshwater resources. According to FAO, while the ocean covers nearly three quarters of Earth’s surface, capture fisheries and a small marine aquaculture sector produce only 2 percent of the global food supply. During the past two decades, intensified droughts, storms, and other climate-related events have revealed substantial vulnerabilities for land-based food production. Aquaculture operations, although not fully climate resilient, require less natural resources and emit fewer greenhouse gasses to produce aquatic food. Growth of farming of fish, shellfish, and seaweeds can reduce resource pressure and present novel resilience opportunities for a changing environment. Aquaculture practices allow for control of growing conditions by locating farms in areas with ideal environmental characteristics, and the three-dimensional nature of the ocean allows for optimal vertical positioning where farmers can raise species throughout the water column. This allows for an increase in production in a relatively small footprint.