Mixed responses of tropical Pacific fisheries and aquaculture to climate change

• 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
• Subjects: Ocean acidification; Western Pacific; Food Security; El-Nino; Impact; Fish; Tuna; 2301 Environmental Science (miscellaneous); 3301 Social Sciences (miscellaneous); Pacific
• Online Access: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:306942

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.