The success of the initial phases of Chilean salmon farming is greatly aided by access to high-quality water, sourced from basins dominated by native forests and characterized by high levels of precipitation. Nevertheless, in recent years, human activities have had a growing impact on both of these attributes. In this scenario, a study led by the Associate Researcher of the Integrative Program at the Interdisciplinary Center for Aquaculture Research (INCAR), Dr. Jorge León-Muñoz, examined the risk of climate change in 123 watersheds in central southern Chile that provide water for salmon farming on land.
The study titled “Landscape dependency of land-based salmon farming under climate change” found that under a high emissions scenario, over 50% of the current production of fry and smolts would be located in areas of high or very high risk. These projections are the result of both a drier and warmer climate, as well as the ongoing processes of deforestation and fragmentation of native forests, a combination that could limit the availability and quality of water necessary for optimal aquaculture production. The research also revealed that by returning to the quality of the landscape in the past (1986), there would be a possibility to mitigate the consequences of climate change on Chilean salmon farming.
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