Mussel farmers face hotter sea risk

FACED with rising Black Sea temperatures that suffocate his mussels, Bulgarian farmer Nayden Stanev has been forced to change his ways — shifting his seeding schedule and harvesting at cooler depths.

- 

Yet Stanev, a 56-year-old former marine commando, sees the fallout from climate change as both a threat and opportunity for his business.

As bad as it is for Bulgaria's mussel farmers, their peers in the Mediterranean Sea have had to deal with even higher water temperatures.

“We are better off? Stanev said.

Though the Balkan EU member still trails far behind major Mediterranean mussel producers such as Spain and Italy, it has taken the lead in the Black Sea.

And it is less affected by marine heat waves, which have led to a sharp decline in Europe's mussel crop, according to experts.

But the warmer waters are still a threat to Black Sea mussel farmers.