Climate Change Effects on Aquaculture: A Case Study of Latvia

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production sectors, but the imminent impact of climate change puts aquaculture at risk. In the production of aquaculture products in ponds, the production process is significantly affected by climatic conditions, in particular climate change resulting in changes in average air and water temperatures, rainfall, changes in the hydrological regime and groundwater levels. At the same time, ponds are an essential element of environmental services, also contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and habitats. The research problem is the multidimensional impact of climate change on Latvia’s aquaculture sector, which threatens its sustainability, competitiveness, and ecological balance. The aim of the study is to determine the potential impact of climate change on aquaculture production in Latvia. A partially structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Bottom-up descriptive approach and Indicative methods were used for statistical analysis of the data collected. Collected data was analysed using frequency distributions, mean ranks and Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that in order to balance the public interest in environmentally sustainable and biodiversity-preserving aquaculture production with ensuring the competitiveness of producers, it is necessary to continue to provide public support to cover revenue foregone or additional costs incurred by enterprises. Climate change has a significant impact on air and water temperatures, not only on open fish farming systems, but also on closed systems, which incur higher production costs in order to maintain and ensure optimal breeding conditions for fish species.