MARINE AQUACULTURE CAN MITIGATE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND INCREASE SECURITY OF THE WORLD’S SEAFOOD SUPPLY

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement called for efforts to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with an ideal target of no higher than 1.5°C. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a landmark report that detailed the emissions reductions necessary to meet this 1.5°C goal. According to this report, global net anthropogenic CO2 emissions must reach net zero by 2050.  Growing scientific evidence suggests that responsible marine aquaculture has the potential to mitigate climate change while feeding a growing population and increasing the resilience of the global food system, making it a valuable tool for the U.S. to meet its climate goals.

This presentation explores the climate impacts of marine aquaculture against the backdrop of climate mitigation as a global and domestic priority. It is based on a series of interviews with scientists and marine aquaculture experts and a comprehensive review of existing scientific literature related to the climate impacts of farming finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, and seaweeds. The goal of this report is to present the state of the science, synthesize the existing literature, and summarize the key themes for consideration:

•  Human population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and the global demand for animal protein will rise by 73-88%
• One suggested mitigation measure is for future meat production to shift away from terrestrial livestock to more climate-friendly seafood
• Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental impacts of food systems by assessing impacts (e.g., energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, land use, biodiversity impacts) per functional unit of protein produced and some studies suggest that the GHG emissions from aquaculture production are comparable to emissions from poultry and pork production and significantly lower than production of ruminants like beef, sheep, and goats
• Well-managed marine aquaculture development could increase the resiliency of our food system to future environmental, social, and economic shocks, including the impacts of climate change
• Seaweed farming can provide ecosystem services such as improving water quality, regulating ocean acidification, protecting coastlines, providing habitat for other species, and through carbon sequestration, be a tool to mitigate global warming by removing CO2 from the atmosphere.