Mixed responses of tropical Pacific fisheries and aquaculture to climate change

Pacific Island countries have an extraordinary dependence on fisheries and aquaculture. Maintaining the benefits from the sector is a difficult task, now made more complex by climate change. Here we report how changes to the atmosphere-ocean are likely to affect the food webs, habitats and stocks un...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Climate Change
Main Authors: Bell, Johann D., Ganachaud, Alexandre, Gehrke, Peter C., Griffiths, Shane P., Hobday, Alistair J., Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove, Johnson, Johanna E., Le Borgne, Robert, Lehodey, Patrick, Lough, Janice M., Matear, Richard J., Pickering, Timothy D., Pratchett, Morgan S., Sen Gupta, Alex, Senina, Inna, Waycott, Michelle
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing 2013
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Online Access:https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:306942
Description
Summary:Pacific Island countries have an extraordinary dependence on fisheries and aquaculture. Maintaining the benefits from the sector is a difficult task, now made more complex by climate change. Here we report how changes to the atmosphere-ocean are likely to affect the food webs, habitats and stocks underpinning fisheries and aquaculture across the region. We found winners and losers - tuna are expected to be more abundant in the east and freshwater aquaculture and fisheries are likely to be more productive. Conversely, coral reef fisheries could decrease by 20% by 2050 and coastal aquaculture may be less efficient. We demonstrate how the economic and social implications can be addressed within the sector - tuna and freshwater aquaculture can help support growing populations as coral reefs, coastal fisheries and mariculture decline.