About the topic:
Mounting pressures from climate change threaten the sustainability of food production systems. While risk and vulnerability assessments have traditionally focused on fisheries or terrestrial agriculture in isolation, there is a pressing need for integrated approaches that account for the complex interdependencies across these systems to help support climate adaptation plans. Fed aquaculture is increasingly important in global food security, and exemplifies these interconnections. Its sustainability hinges not only on aquatic ecosystem health but also on inputs such as feed derived from wild fisheries and terrestrial agriculture. As demand for fishmeal and fish oil increases, the resilience of forage fisheries and their supply chains becomes critical. Simultaneously, the use of terrestrial crops in aquafeeds raises concerns related to land use, food security, and greenhouse gas emissions. The work presented here is part of an integrative study of the potential climate change risks to fed mariculture across different sectors for feed resources (fisheries, terrestrial agriculture). It focuses on how major global fed aquaculture species will be impacted by climate change in their growth potential, feed demand, and suitability for current locations.
About the speaker:
Dr Tormey Reimer received her Masters degree in 2015 studying the occurrence and impact of vateritic otoliths in farmed salmon. She received her PhD from the University of Tasmania in 2024 where she modelled the potential environmental impacts of including seaweeds in Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture, and she has continued this work by modelling the nitrogen bioremediation potential of Asparagopsis around Australia. She has now worked in modelling global fed aquaculture for two years, using bioenergetics models to link climate change, species physiology, and feed formulation to sustainability outcomes.