1. Introduction
The global demand for laver (Gim)
1 has been increasing, and Korea accounts for approximately 82% of the world’s laver production, making it the leading laver producer, followed by China and Japan. Thus, changes in laver production in Korea have a considerable impact on the global laver food industry. In recent years, the increase in sea level due to climate change has threatened the aquaculture industry, and its unprecedented impact on aquaculture products and marine life is increasing [
1,
2,
3,
4]. A global mean temperature rise of 2 °C could lead to a sea level rise of ≥1 m, and certain parts of the world, including countries in the South Pacific, are expected to be submerged by seawater [
5,
6]. No country is spared the effects of climate change, and a close association between climate change and food, population, resources, and environmental crises will eventually lead to a national crisis in Korea [
7,
8]. Accordingly, climate change is an important issue that must not be overlooked because not only does it affect fisheries production, but it also accelerates export, resource, and food crises [
4,
9,
10,
11]. In Korea, fish of the Engraulidae family,
Todarodes pacificus,
Clupea pallasii, and
Gadus morhua, have migrated away from their original habitats owing to increased seawater temperature since the 1990s, resulting in reduced catches of pollen (seed), a cold-temperature species [
12,
13]. Meanwhile, the production of
Halocynthia roretzi,
Styela clava, and marine algae is gradually declining [
14,
15,
16]. Over the last 100 years, the mean global land temperature has increased by 0.74 ℃; however, in Korea, the temperature has increased by 1.87 ℃, higher than the mean global temperature rise. Consequently, a rapid increase in water temperature in Korea is inevitable and is expected to affect various fisheries areas directly and indirectly, resulting in fewer fish being caught in the future [
17,
18,
19].
Marine algae are particularly vulnerable to climate change, which is expected to cause a variety of problems [
20,
21]; nevertheless, only a limited number of studies have evaluated the impact [
22,
23,
24]. In particular, only a few studies have explored the effect of climate change on laver. Indeed, most studies have focused on developing marine algae aquaculture as a future energy source to improve the ecological environment.
Kim et al. [
23] evaluated the vulnerability to climate change of aquaculture in Korea. The annual change in seawater surface temperature, a factor affecting climate change, was predicted by representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. Kim et al. [
24] also presented the causality between laver production in Maro-hae (in Jeollanam-do) and factors affecting climate change (such as rainfall, wind speed, duration of sunlight, and farm facilities. Water temperature was found to be a key factor affecting laver production; however, no predictive analyses for laver production have been conducted [
21]. Meanwhile, Yong et al. presented marine algal aquaculture as a future sustainable energy source to combat climate change [
25]. Oh et al. [
26] devised a methodology for the automatic harvesting of laver to reduce risks, and Ahmed et al. [
27] indicated that the seaweed industry is a potential sector for sustainable blue economy alternatives and for improving ecological conditions.
One study has demonstrated that the potential impacts of climate change on inland fisheries include increased water temperature, decreased dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, and increased toxicity of contaminants, all of which can change hydrologic regimes and groundwater temperatures, affecting the quality of fish habitat [
28]. Further, a study on the effect of water temperature on the susceptibility of cultured marine fish species to vibriosis assessed the correlation between the marine aquaculture environment and pH, DO, and salinity, demonstrating that water temperature had a substantial impact on vibriosis susceptibility and increased fish mortality [
29].
According to Kim et al. [
23,
24] and Nam Yang Fishing Net Co., Ltd. [
30], increased water temperature is a major factor directly affecting laver production. However, policy countermeasures are not properly implemented as water temperature increases rapidly in Korea. Thus, laver cultivation is vulnerable to climate change [
14,
23].
Laver is Korea’s top export and increased by 15.4% from 2010 to 2020 (
Figure 1) [
31]. The entire production of laver, from processing to export, is conducted in Korea. Moreover, this industry has an annual market value of more than 4 trillion won, thus creating numerous jobs [
32,
33]. In addition, seaweed absorbs carbon dioxide and help mitigate the progression of marine acidification in response to climate change.
We aimed to establish a model using a 10-year dataset from Wando, a major laver-producing area. A specific objective was to develop measures to meet future laver demands by predicting the production following future environmental changes. Based on previous studies [
23,
24,
30], the factors affecting laver production include water temperature, rainfall, and sunlight duration. Therefore, these environmental variables were selected. Moreover, this study considered the optimum timing of the impacts of environmental variables on laver production. A model including a time lag was used to predict laver production based on previous environmental changes before harvesting. For instance, water temperature and rainfall 1 month prior, as well as 2-month sunlight exposure, could be used to predict production at collection time. Using such production forecasts, the facilities and the workforce required to harvest the laver can be prepared. Various environmental change scenarios were analyzed using the derived model, and measures to avoid a reduction in laver production in Korea based on the results of the quantified analysis were proposed. Briefly, a model for changes in laver production due to climate change was derived. Subsequently, four future scenarios of change in projected laver production for each strategy based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted data on climate change (water temperature change) were predicted using the analysis model.
4. Discussion
The present study used water temperature, duration of sunlight, and rainfall as the environmental variables and analyzed the correlations and their impacts on laver production. Environmental changes typically do not immediately impact output within the same month. To alter laver production, environmental factors must have an impact over a growth period, and in this study, the growth period was accounted for in the analysis. By introducing a time lag for the environmental variables, an optimum model to show laver production following environmental changes before harvesting was established. The analysis showed that the variable with the greatest impact on laver production was water temperature; thus, the laver production was predicted at 20.73 million packs (a decrease of 13.78%) as the water temperature increased by 1 °C, given a time lag. The next most important factor was sunlight duration in the month before harvesting. If the sunlight duration increased by 1 h per month, the laver production would increase by 0.32%. If the sunlight duration 1 month before harvesting increased by 10 h, the total laver production would increase by 3.2% (24,820 packs). Lastly, if rainfall increased by 1 mm 1 month before harvesting, laver production would be expected to increase by 0.13%. Similarly, if 1 month before harvesting laver, rainfall increased by 1 cm, laver production would increase by 1.3% (24.36 million packs), assuming that rainfall during the winter season was suitable. As with sunlight duration, countermeasures can be implemented in advance by recruiting the necessary workforce and building processing facilities to respond to environmental changes 1 month earlier.
Laver production levels are highly associated with the aquaculture environment. In terms of water temperature, there is a tendency for rot disease to develop when the water temperature is ≥10 °C, whereas poor growth leads to reduced laver production when the water temperature is ≤10 °C. However, lack of rainfall and inadequate sunlight exposure may inhibit laver production due to the proliferation of diatoms [
39]. During the March and April harvest period (when laver production is high), production may decrease because of an increase in water temperature. However, a considerable increase in rainfall and sunlight duration created conditions that increased laver production. Therefore, a proper balance between environmental variables is considered crucial for laver production.
A future reduction in laver production due to climate change is inevitable. Therefore, this study quantitatively analyzed changes in laver production according to environmental change scenarios and proposed short-, mid-, and long-term alternatives for developing laver aquaculture. Compliance with the appropriate laver seeding time based on scientific data and expansion of land-based seeding are short-term alternatives. Maintaining an appropriate water temperature during the harvest period is important for the growth of laver, especially during the seeding period. The seeding method involves installing spores in a laver facility (net). High water temperature inhibits spore adherence, and poor harvest is tantamount to a reduction in laver production [
40]. Aquaculture farmers can use these methods to increase laver production with minimal effort. Nevertheless, the majority of aquaculture farmers plant seeds before and after Chuseok by relying solely on their years of experience. Chuseok, known as Korean Thanksgiving Day, occurs on August 15 of the lunar calendar. An increase in water temperature and natural disasters, such as typhoons, after seed planting cause significant damage to laver production, and several cases of such events have been reported [
40,
41]. Therefore, in order to minimize such damage, studies on appropriate seedlings based on scientific analysis are needed.
Unlike Japan, seeding in Korea is primarily sea-based and greatly influenced by the outside environment, such as water temperature. Accordingly, it is important to use the optimum water temperature during seeding to maintain stable production [
42,
43]. Land-based seeding facilities in Korea account for 20% of all laver facilities, which is significantly lower than the percentage in Japan. Despite the government’s policy support, owing to the lack of land-based seeding technology in Korea, the absence of standard facility manuals, and a decline in reliability, the expansion of land-based seeding farms is slower than expected. However, despite these disadvantages, using the land-based seeding technique can ensure stable production of laver amidst climate change, even with a reduced workforce, shortened seeding time, and limited frozen and refrigeration facilities [
44].
Mid- and long-term alternatives include the development of laver seeds that are high-temperature- and disease-resistant and the discovery of new aquaculture sites. Developing laver seeds that are resistant to changes in the environment, even to high water temperatures, is important as it is the basis for sustainable laver aquaculture [
18,
45]. Although laver seeds are constantly being improved in Korea, continuous research and development and policy support are required as climate change accelerates. The analysis of IPCC’s scenarios suggests that laver output in Wando could decrease by 73.3% in 2100 compared to that in 2020, indicating that the environment is no longer optimal for laver production (region, water temperature, and other factors). However, finding new laver farms will incur high costs and require considerable time and effort. Finding a new appropriate laver aquaculture ground that is as good as the South West Sea will be challenging. Therefore, the discovery of appropriate laver aquaculture grounds should be considered from the mid- and long-term perspectives. In Korea, restrictions on new permits for laver aquaculture result in high-density planting of laver. This affects laver production, as well as contamination in laver aquaculture, consequently reducing laver production [
46]. Accordingly, integrated management based on continuous monitoring and research is necessary to maintain the laver aquaculture environment by considering the environmental capacity [
47].
The present study used observational data to conduct a regression analysis based on the monitoring data of environmental changes over the last 10 years. Thus, environmental changes such as extremely high and low temperatures were not considered. Therefore, the scenario was analyzed under the assumption that changes in water temperature affecting the growth and development of laver would not be extreme. In addition, because the scenario was analyzed based on the parameter values of the model derived for analyzing changes in laver production, there may be factors that were not reflected in the model.
This study had some limitations. First, although laver farms are located in 23 regions in Korea, the analysis was conducted only for Wando due to the lack of basic statistics for other areas. In addition, it is insufficient to describe the cycle of overall growth and development of laver in Korea alone since the analysis was conducted assuming that laver production varies linearly with parameter values. Since laver production trends may change under different local aquaculture methods, policy support should be provided to obtain accurate estimation by gathering basic data from other regions.
Second, like other agricultural resource studies, this study used data from 10 years (240 months) of follow-up observations in Korea to study the amount of laver production according to environmental changes. However, it is expected that there will be some limitations in predicting future changes to natural ecology through 10 years of data, and it is expected that research on the laver industry can be further developed through follow-up research from a longer-term perspective.
Nevertheless, this study used the simulation analysis method for each scenario using climate models, which are employed in other sectors such as agriculture. Moreover, this is the first study that has attempted to determine the vulnerability of laver production to changes in water temperature influenced by climate change. Considering the increasing importance of seaweed as a sustainable food source and the economic value of the laver industry, both of which are challenged by climate change, it is necessary to conduct follow-up studies in other laver-producing areas. Moreover, research into i) suitable new laver cultivation sites and how they are affected by climate change and ii) ways to secure laver productivity through seed development is necessary.