Global Warming and Fisheries: Thoughts on a Sensible Response
Atmospheric measurements show that so-called greenhouse gases have been accumulating in the Earth’s atmosphere for well over a century. There are strong indications that human activity plays a significant role in this process. One consequence of the accumulation of greenhouse gases is thought to be...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English unknown |
| Published: |
International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/conference_proceedings_or_journals/f7623d498 |
| Summary: | Atmospheric measurements show that so-called greenhouse gases have been accumulating in the Earth’s atmosphere for well over a century. There are strong indications that human activity plays a significant role in this process. One consequence of the accumulation of greenhouse gases is thought to be an increase in global temperatures above what would otherwise be the case. Projections on the basis of large scale climatic models suggest that this warming could be as much as 2-6°C during the 21st Century. Temperature changes of this magnitude would almost certainly lead to a significant alteration in the geographical pattern of economic conditions and conceivably cause long term harm. Among the economic activities that may be significantly affected by global warming are the world’s fisheries. If global warming leads to a change in oceanographic conditions, which seems likely, the biological growth, geographical range and behaviour of fish stocks may also change. This could have a deep impact on fisheries as an economic production activity especially locally and possibly also globally. The problem, however, is that this is about as much as we know. We know very little about the direction let alone the magnitude of the impact of global warming on fisheries both regionally and globally. A recent large scale study of the impact of global warming on Arctic and sub-Arctic fisheries suggests that here the impact is more likely to be beneficial than detrimental, but the uncertainty is great. Thus, the world’s nations are faced with a difficult decision problem. In very broad terms the choice is between two options: The first is to embark right away on a program of significantly reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. This option is very costly but may generate benefits later. The latter option is to postpone all drastic actions until the facts of the matter have become clearer and less uncertain. This saves outlays now but can result in additional costs later. This decision problem is the main subject of the paper. The ... |
|---|