Climate change is a significant challenge for aquaculture
This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 3 2025.
Experts in aquaculture from Croatia and abroad gathered in Vukovar to discuss the current state of aquaculture in Croatia and Europe and the use of new technologies and advancements in fish breeding and feeding. Participants included representatives of the European Commission, Eurofish, the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP), aquaculture breeders’ associations from Hungary, Romania, and the Czech Republic, alongside researchers from neighbouring countries.
The consequences of climate change, the need to adapt to green policies and sustainable business practices, inflation, and rising costs are the biggest challenges faced by fisheries and aquaculture, strategic sectors of the Croatian economy that are particularly important for developing coastal areas and islands. Domestic aquaculture producers are facing numerous challenges. Operating costs, including labour costs, have significantly increased, and freshwater aquaculture producers are dealing with additional costs caused by the impacts of climate change, especially floods and droughts. Moreover, the rise in production costs is driven by new standards aquaculture producers must implement as part of the green transition, animal welfare regulations, and increasingly strict legal restrictions on production. It is also important to mention predator protection, stricter environmental requirements, and the loss of income from hunting, said Dragan Kovačević, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy for Agriculture and Tourism.
Aquaculture faces rising production costs
Ivan Matijević, State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, emphasised that the Ministry and the Government continue to work on ensuring the sector’s stability and resilience through responsible resource management and adaptation of farming practices. Croatian aquaculture products are a significant export success—almost 100% of tuna production, around 90% of white fish, and more than 45% of carp species are exported. Exports to the most demanding global markets confirm the high quality of domestic fish and seafood products. Total mariculture production—including white fish, blue fish (tuna), and shellfish farming—reached 23 thousand tonnes in 2023, almost the same as in 2022. Ivan Leko, President of the Mariculture Group of the Croatian Chamber of Economy’s Fisheries Association and CEO of Cromaris, described the industry’s situation as highly challenging due to the significant increase in input costs, the long farming cycle, and the high cost of stock financing. The effects of global warming—especially rising sea temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events—pose new challenges for the industry by increasing operational risks and production costs. The market is also under pressure from global geopolitical uncertainty, reduced purchasing power in key markets, growing competition from third countries like Turkey and North African nations, and rising tuna catch quotas—all contributing to downward pressure on sales prices, said Mr Leko, adding that timely and targeted support is essential to maintain current production levels.
Abundant scope to increase farmed fish production in the EU
Freshwater fish farming in Croatia includes about 12,500 hectares of carp ponds and 40,000 square meters of trout ponds. Despite numerous challenges, early statistics show that production in 2024 increased by around 15% compared to the previous year, thanks to optimised production processes, investments, and the introduction of new know-how, technologies, and innovations. The key challenges for freshwater fish farmers include water shortages caused by changing hydrological conditions, an increasing number of fish-eating birds (cormorants), which are not being managed at either the Croatian or EU level, and significant imports of lower-quality trout from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, and Italy, said Ksenija Vukman, President of the Freshwater Fish Farming Group of the CCE’s Fisheries Association and Head of Orahovica Agricultural Company’s fish farming division. Although aquaculture is one of the world’s fastest-growing food production industries, this sector is still far from reaching its full potential in the EU, accounting for less than 2% of global aquaculture production. EU aquaculture products comprise only 10% of total fish consumption within the Union, representing a significant opportunity for Croatian products and further sector development.
Per capita fish consumption on the increase in Croatia
According to the latest estimates from EUMOFA (European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products), Croatia ranks 7th in the EU in terms of fish consumption, with a total of 23.71 kg per capita, slightly above the EU average of 23.51 kg. While fish consumption is declining across the EU, it continues to grow steadily in Croatia, supported partly by the Croatian Fish—Eat What’s Worth Eating campaign run by the Croatian Chamber of Economy since 2011.
The conference was organised in cooperation with the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Zagreb, the Ruđer Bošković Institute, the Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences in Osijek, the Croatian Veterinary Institute, the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology at the University of Zagreb, the Faculty of Food Technology in Osijek, the University of Dubrovnik, the Lavoslav Ružička Polytechnic in Vukovar, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University in Zagreb, and the University of Zadar. The event was sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, Vukovar-Srijem County and the City of Vukovar.