Aquaculture Europe 2026

Food systems, including aquaculture, are being challenged by changes resulting from global warming. These affect all forms of aquaculture, in inland and coastal marine regions, and especially small and medium sized operators that may not have the financial and operational capacity to implement adaptation and mitigation measures.

Seasonal “extremes” in water temperature, availability and oxygen content and (for coastal areas) salinity, pH, sea level will have varying effects on aquaculture production that may require the diversification of cultured species.

Diseases, parasites, predators, non-indigenous species and algal or jellyfish blooms can also decrease production and challenge aquatic animal welfare. These effects may require the relocation of sites or the allocation of new sites for production. However, these changes may also provide opportunities to diversify to new species production or the combined production of species that can better mitigate effects. Opportunities also lie in the development of a clear and transparent credit system for the carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services that aquatic animal groups, whether in freshwater or coastal habitats, provide.

Taking place in the beautiful Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, AE2026 will put the focus on adaptation to climate effects, the latest research on species adaption capacity and the health/welfare/nutrition/breeding factors that underline this. While Slovenia has a low aquaculture production, it has plans for development of existing and new production methods and species and it is at the heart of central/southern Europe – adjacent to Italy, Croatia, Hungary and Austria – and hence providing a regional focus for both inland and marine aquaculture.