article · Environmental Sciences Europe
Aquaculture plays a critical role in closing the global fish demand gap, providing nutrients and sustaining livelihoods for millions of people. Despite this importance, the sector is increasingly threatened by widespread microplastics and toxic chemicals. While plastic pollution is often studied, the simultaneous presence of toxic chemical contaminants alongside plastic particles and the compounding influence of climate change on aquatic food contamination have received less focus. An evaluation of aquaculture ecosystems reveals microplastics across feeds, water, sediments, and cultured organisms, alongside hazardous chemical risks. Furthermore, the degree to which aquaculture itself contributes to broader climate change and global plastic pollution remains insufficiently quantified. Addressing these intertwined environmental threats requires better risk assessment frameworks and targeted mitigation strategies to prevent emerging food safety crises and protect aquatic ecosystem stability.
Aquaculture provides essential nutrition and livelihoods for tens of millions of people worldwide. Understanding how climate change worsens microplastic and chemical pollution in farmed seafood is vital for protecting public health, safeguarding food supply chains, and preventing systemic food safety crises.
This work represents early-stage conceptual research that synthesises current evidence and highlights pollution mitigation strategies for aquaculture systems. The insights could inform risk assessment tools, monitoring protocols, or intervention strategies for aquaculture operators, feed manufacturers, and food safety regulators, though the abstract does not describe any tested technologies or near-market commercial products.
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The aquaculture industry is growing rapidly and plays a huge role in bridging the global demand gap for fish and other aquatic foods. It is a vital contributor of valuable nutrients and economic benefits. Aquaculture and fisheries provide a means of livelihood to an estimated 58.5 million people globally, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. However, the sector is impacted by the ubiquity of microplastics and toxic chemicals. Although many studies have reported plastic pollution in the aquaculture environment, less attention has been paid to the coexistence of toxic chemicals with plastic particles and the role of climate change in aquaculture food contamination. This review evaluates the occurrence of microplastics in organisms, feeds, water, and sediment in the aquaculture ecosystem and the detection and hazardous effects of toxic chemical contaminants. We also highlight novel insights into the role of climate change in plastic and chemical contamination of aquaculture organisms and ecosystems. We report that the extent of aquaculture’s contribution to global climate change and global plastic pollution is yet to be adequately quantified and requires further investigation for appropriate risk assessment and prevention of food safety crisis. Possible mitigation strategies for the highlighted pollution problems were suggested, and some identified gaps for future research were indicated. Overall, this work is one of the first efforts to assess the influence of climate change on aquaculture food contamination, emphasising its effects on food safety and ecosystem health.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12302-024-00995-6
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