Experts address climate change issues for aquaculture

As the world’s leaders prepare to gather in Glasgow in November for the COP26 climate change summit, Fish Farmer magazine and online content business InterMet have teamed up to present a webinar on Aquaculture – Meeting the Threats of Extreme Weather & Climate Change.

The free webinar will take place live on Thursday 19 August at 4pm UK time (5pm CET) and a recording will also be available to view later. The panellists will be presenting their perspectives on climate change and taking questions from the moderator, Robert Outram and from the aquaculture sector.

Our panel members are:

Anne Anderson, Head of Sustainability & Development with Scottish Sea Farms, one of the country’s leading producers of premium farmed salmon.

Daniel Fairweather, Executive Director, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries with insurance company Gallagher and a member of the Gallagher UK ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Committee.

Lynne Falconer, researcher at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, with over 10 years’ research experience in aquaculture and the environment.

Jonathan LaRiviere, Chief Executive of Scoot Science, an ocean analytics and forecasting business based in Santa Cruz, California, which aims to help fish farmers protect assets, operate sustainably, and increase profits.

The issues the webinar will cover include:

• Emerging climate-related threats for the aquaculture sector: including raised sea temperatures, with implications for cold water fish like salmon and cod; increased risk of harmful algal blooms and reduced oxygen levels; increased frequency and severity of storms; flooding and/or drought for inland farms.
• Possible mitigation strategies including: relocation of sites; strengthening standards for cages and moorings; better real-time monitoring of marine conditions; relocation further offshore or to land-based RAS (recirculating aquaculture systems) facilities.
• The role the aquaculture sector can play in combating climate change. e.g. aiming for ‘net zero’ in the production cycle; switching from diesel to electric/hybrid power for vessels and farm sites; using renewable energy or heat from other industries to power RAS sites.
• The opportunities for innovative new and existing businesses to develop solutions to meet the challenges facing aquaculture from extreme weather & climate change.

To register free of charge or for more information, go online to www.intermet.digital/intermetdigital-webinar4/

We welcome your questions – please contact Ian Harper, InterMet at ian@mediageneration.co.uk