Atlantic salmon as a model for understanding the nutritional impacts of climate change on farmed animal-source foods

Abstract Climate change is predicted to reduce the nutritional value of terrestrial crops, yet its direct impact on animal-based foods remains underexplored. The present study used farmed Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) as a model to investigate how ocean warming may alter mineral composition and human mineral intake. Atlantic salmon were reared at optimum (15 °C) and suboptimum elevated temperatures (20 °C) to quantify tissue mineral changes, followed by projections of ocean surface temperatures in major Atlantic salmon-producing nations and dietary case studies in Australia and Norway. Suboptimum elevated temperatures increased concentrations of most minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and selenium) in Atlantic salmon tissues but reduced iodine, with muscle showing an 81% decline and whole-body a 19% decline. By 2090, projected ocean warming above 18 °C in Norway, Chile, Canada, and Australia could alter farmed Atlantic salmon mineral profiles. In Australia and Norway, Atlantic salmon-derived iodine intake was projected to decline by 0.1% and 0.2% in 2090, respectively. The present study using Atlantic salmon as an example of farmed meat, highlights potential risks of nutritional deficiencies from climate-driven nutrient changes in both marine and terrestrial animal-sourced foods. Strategies such as feed biofortification and climate-adaptive aquaculture practices are needed to sustain food quality, public health, and industry resilience under warming oceans.