As the effects of climate change become more prominent and impacts intensify, the aquaculture sector must make decisions on adaptation strategies and implement actions that will reduce risks and increase resilience. However adaptation is complex, and there can be many consequences of action or inaction. One of the major risks is maladaptation, when an action that is introduced to minimize a negative effect makes the situation worse, increases vulnerability, or has other undesirable impacts. This study considers how climate change maladaptation can occur across six defined Aquaculture Maladaptation Outcomes: (1) Increased emissions of greenhouse gases, (2) Negative impact on farmed species, (3) Negative ecological or environmental impact at local, regional or international scale, (4) Negative social impact on individuals, communities, or the global population, (5) Negative economic impact on individuals, companies, or the global food market and (6) Reduced adaptive capacity of aquaculture systems. The study further explains that maladaptation could arise through different routes, often unintentionally and could occur at all stages in the production line and associated supply chain (e.g., feed production), such as the farm-level or industry-wide scale, threatening future food production and sustainability of the sector. The distinction between adaptation and maladaptation is not always clear, changing over time and influenced by different factors, so the adaptation-maladaptation continuum is also discussed, as is the need for trade-offs. Finally, seven recommendations are outlined to help advance adaptation to climate change in aquaculture.
Refining approaches to measuring, monitoring and appraising animal welfare in aquaculture research is key to (i) protecting and optimizing it, (ii) documenting the severity of how and when it deviates, and (iii) ensuring good scientific quality, reliable results and reproducibility, amongst other factors. However, different fish species and life stages can have varying welfare needs and assessing their welfare can be challenging. An array of welfare indicators (WIs) can be utilized when documenting fish welfare, and there is currently little consensus on which WIs are most applicable to the key fish species used in European aquaculture research. The aim of this review is to propose updated, fit for purpose and comprehensive WI toolboxes for aquaculture research involving Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ), rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ), European seabass ( Dicentrarchus labrax ), gilthead seabream ( Sparus aurata ), and the common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ). Where possible, these toolboxes will also include life-stage considerations. It also provides information on utilizing WIs in deciding humane end-points as well as information on how to sample different types of indicators. The review closes with information on how digitalization can affect the collection, collation and analysis of WI data in aquaculture research, including both practical and theoretical considerations. The toolboxes incorporate a range of WIs that go beyond those required for legally safeguarding fish welfare in both laboratory and operational experimental facilities in the current European 2010/63/EU Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes and its amendment, the Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2024/1262.
Ecolabels aim to promote sustainable production practices, but their effectiveness in incentivizing producers remains debated, particularly in settings where there are groups of producers being certified. This reflects similar challenges as in other producer programs, such as generic marketing and quality programs. In the case of fisheries, for instance, the evidence with respect to the existence of price premiums at the producer level is mixed. This is partly due to limited access to upstream data that captures variations in market demand for ecolabeled products. This study uses firm-level data from the Norwegian cod supply chain, encompassing purchase and sales prices over 8 years for two firms, to assess if a premium is associated with the ecolabel of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Our data highlight that the firms handle both MSC-certified and uncertified cod, indicating that certification is one of several product attributes. We find that there is a premium associated with the MSC label and that it is passed upstream. In addition, product form, size, and market destination significantly influence value distribution, and regional market variation shows substantial premiums in Northern and Western Europe but none in Eastern Europe.
Enzymatic hydrolysis is used to produce protein hydrolysates from animal- and plant-based sources, which are widely utilized in industry due to their nutritional, functional, and bioactive properties. However, these hydrolysates can exhibit unattractive sensory properties, such as off-flavors or off-odors, which limit their use in food products. The sensory properties of protein hydrolysates may stem from inherent attributes in the raw material or develop during processing-either as an intended consequence of hydrolysis or as an unintended side effect. This review summarizes key factors contributing to undesirable sensory attributes, and highlights processing steps influencing sensory properties, drawing on examples from plant- and animal-sourced protein hydrolysates. Subsequently, an assessment of recent strategies to improve sensory properties is provided. While earlier research has mainly addressed bitterness, other undesirable sensory issues remain underexplored. Several factors affect sensory properties in protein hydrolysates during pre-, peri-, and post-hydrolysis, such as choice of raw material (composition and freshness), process conditions, and microbial action. Through literature searches, 10 strategies for optimizing the sensory properties in protein hydrolysates have been identified: pretreatment of raw materials, application of antioxidants, enzymatic modification methods, use of Maillard reaction, fermentation processing techniques, solvent-assisted extraction, adsorption removal techniques, membrane filtration processes, microencapsulation technology, and use of masking agents. While these strategies may make the protein hydrolysates more palatable and acceptable for consumption, their shortcomings include additional costs, time-consuming processes, reduced nutritional value, and potential non-compliance with food-grade standards.
Consumers play a key role in the much-needed transition to a more sustainable food system. However, consumers' willingness and ability to undergo behavioural changes may depend on personality traits as well as their motivation and awareness of the need for a more sustainable food consumption. Segmentation of consumers can therefore be useful for understanding individual differences and for the development of targeted interventions for behavioural changes. In this paper, an instrument to profile and classify Norwegian consumers is developed using a national representative sample (N = 3600). The proposed instrument comprises twenty items to measure personality traits defined by a condensed version of the Big Five Inventory as well as seven items related to attitudes to food waste, reuse and recycling. Three segments characterised by differences in openness to experience, and attitudes to food waste and reuse/recycling were identified. The segments are profiled on habits related to purchase behaviour, meal planning, as well as frequency of meat and vegetable consumption. Based on the profiles, the segments were labelled Need to Change (30%), Want to Change (41%) and Hard to Change (29%) emphasizing either low concern about food waste (Need to Change), higher concern and openness to change (Want to Change) or low scores on openness (Hard to Change). We propose that the developed instrument can be applied for profiling consumers in the Norwegian context, for tailoring consumer interventions. The study underscores that supporting the food system transition requires differentiated consumer strategies: engaging the motivated, empowering the open, and carefully reaching the resistant.
