Future socio-political scenarios for aquatic resources in Europe: An operationalized framework for aquaculture projections

Kreiss, Cornelia M., Papathanasopoulou, Eleni, Hamon, Katell G., Pinnegar, John K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5061-9520, Rybicki, Sandra, Micallef, Giulia, Tabeau, Andrzej, Cubillo, Alhambra M. and Peck, Myron A. (2020) Future socio-political scenarios for aquatic resources in Europe: An operationalized framework for aquaculture projections. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7. ISSN 2296-7745

[thumbnail of Published_Version]
Preview
PDF (Published_Version) - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Climate-driven changes in aquatic environments have already started to affect the European aquaculture sector's most commercially important finfish and shellfish species. In addition to changes in water quality and temperature that can directly influence fish production by altering health status, growth performance and/or feed conversion, the aquaculture sector also faces an uncertain future in terms of production costs and returns. For example, the availability of key ingredients for fish feeds (proteins, omega-3 fatty acids) will not only depend on future changes in climate, but also on social and political factors, thereby influencing feed costs. The future cost of energy, another main expenditure for fish farms, will also depend on various factors. Finally, marketing options and subsidies will have major impacts on future aquaculture profitability. Based on the framework of four socio-political scenarios developed in the EU H2020 project climate change and European aquatic resources (CERES), we defined how these key factors for the aquaculture sector could change in the future. We then apply these scenarios to make projections of how climate change and societal and economic trends influence the mid-century (2050) profitability of European aquaculture. We used an established benchmarking approach to contrast present-day and future economic performance of "typical farms" in selected European production regions under each of the scenarios termed "World Markets," "National Enterprise," "Global Sustainability" and "Local Stewardship." These scenarios were based partly on the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios framework and their representative concentration pathways (RCPs) and the widely used shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs). Together, these scenarios contrast local versus international emphasis on decision making, more versus less severe environmental change, and different consequences for producers due to future commodity prices, cash returns, and costs. The mid-century profitability of the typical farms was most sensitive to the future development of feed costs, price trends of returns, and marketing options as opposed to the direct effect of climate-driven changes in the environment. These results can inform adaptation planning by the European aquaculture sector. Moreover, applying consistent scenarios including societal and economic dimensions, facilitates regional to global comparisons of adaptation advice both within and across Blue Growth sectors.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding Information: This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 678193 (CERES – Climate change and European Aquatic Resources). This document reflects only the authors’ view. The European Commission is not responsible for the dissemination of CERES project results and for any use that may be made of the information.
Uncontrolled Keywords: climate change,aquaculture,scenario,socio-political,economic,atlantic salmon,carp,typical farm,climate-change,price volatility,social license,fish-meal,sea lice,impacts,salmon,fisheries,economics,model,water science and technology,environmental science (miscellaneous),ocean engineering,aquatic science,oceanography,global and planetary change,sdg 14 - life below water,sdg 13 - climate action ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2312
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 24 Aug 2021 00:19
Last Modified: 13 Apr 2023 14:31
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/81189
DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2020.568159

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item