Feed & Additive Magazine Issue 3 April 2021

SPECIAL STORY FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2021 67 This means that changing weather patterns may alter the expected disease season, and geographical range of pathogens and their respective pathologies may change. This unpredictability makes it even more important for producers to employ robust dis- ease prevention strategies, for example biosecurity, SPF/ SPR animals, water management and usage of functional feeds. CAN AQUACULTURE MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE? Although it is not clear how climate change will affect the biology of commercially important aqua species, it is certain that climate change will have an impact on aquaculture. But in some ways, aquaculture may be ca- pable of mitigating some of the negative effects. For example, healthy tropical rainforests are a cru- cial carbon sink, slowing climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in trees, a process known as carbon sequestration. These pre- cious ecosystems must be protected, so instead of ag- riculture-based deforestation, it makes sense to focus animal production in other areas which are more re- silient to these effects, for example in the open ocean. It is also worth considering that many climate change ‘events’ are land based, e.g. desertification, drought, tornadoes etc. so open ocean aquaculture may not be directly affected. Certain species, for example salmon also have an extremely low carbon footprint. The Global Salmon Initiative reported that a 40g serving of farmed salmon, produces 0.60 g CO 2 eq, compared to 0.88 g for chicken, 1.30 g for pork and 5.92 g for beef (Figure 3). This makes it one of the most environmentally sustainable an- imal proteins to consume. It should be noted how- ever that other aquatic species have a greater envi- ronmental cost. WHAT CAN WE DO? First and foremost, we can all adopt immediate measures to minimize our contribution to climate change in our professional and personal life. From sustainability to carbon neutralization, awareness, education and research are the foundation for a long- term change and should always go hand in hand with our decision making and actions. As we have seen recently, the global shut down of non-essential industry has seen record low levels of pollution and greenhouse gases. This has led many experts to postulate if these events can be the spur to a green recovery. It would be encouraging to think that as society resumes its ‘normal’ life, aquaculture can also cement its position as a sustainable animal production sector for better food security. To suc- ceed in this regard, and with climate change in mind, every part of the value chain must play its part, from equipment, technology and feed suppliers, to pro- ducers, legislators and the consumer. Aquaculture must ‘adapt or die’, and the challenge of climate change could force the industry to become more sustainable and efficient. Regardless of the spe- cific climate change effect, it is universally accept- ed that many activities, including aquaculture, will become more unpredictable and therefore, we must consider how to increase production predictability and reduce the risk. Ultimately for the producer, this may include real time monitoring, automation, dig- italization, using efficient feeds and employing pro- phylactic health management programs. It will also be important to consider other factors such as genetic programs for more robust animals as well as production system (indoor vs outdoor for shrimp), site (coastal or open ocean for marine spe- cies), and perhaps even choice of species. With these factors in mind, only with a holistic approach can we work towards a productive, profitable and an envi- ronmentally conscious aquaculture sector. *Biokey- BIOMIN in Turkey Figure 3. The equivalent carbon (CO 2 eq) footprint of farmed species. CO 2 eq is measured in grams of carbon dioxide per typical serving (40g) of edible protein. Source: Global Salmon Initiative