Environmental randomness and climate change effects pose significant threats to aquaculture. Climate change and environmental randomness or shocks whether positive or negative, are integral part of fisheries and aquaculture systems and impact those drivers that would affect the aquatic systems’ biological processes through, changes in water quantity and quality, temperature, salinity, oxygen, acidity, fishing pressure and natural habitats, as well as drivers of change that impact human choices in their use of aquatic resources, such as changes in governance structures, input and output prices, technological change, emergencies and cultural aspects.
Aquaculture is mostly environmental fragile, climate sensitive and vulnerable. The impact of climate change on aquatic ecosystems include climate hazards, such as flooding, drought and affecting fishstocks, but these hazards are more likely to have a diminishing effect on food security because of a high reliance on fish and other aquatic foods. Environmental degradation and climate risks to aquatic food systems are often confronted by inadequate capacity that limits the technical capability and institutional ability to effectively manage the environment and enhance resiliency to adapt to climate related challenges.
Application of better practices including robust policies, tools, strategies and plans for aquaculture zoning mechanisms at the watershed level, biosecurity frameworks, risk analysis and strategic environmental assessments would take into consideration the added effects on aquaculture farms and would enable the sector to better face potential threats such as new diseases, invasive species and fish quality.
Failure to integrate climate change and environment into the aquaculture management system, the resulting effect of change may be highly negative on long-term sustainability that aquaculture would decline and collapse the sector. Climate change and environmental degradation would put pressure on aquaculture and the question of how to meet increasing demand for fish in the face of climate change and environmental degradation would pose great threats to aquaculture management.