By: McKenna Donegan
March 29th 2020
A recent study published by the journal Science found that the amount of seafood humans could sustainably harvest from a wide range of species shrank by 4.1 percent from 1930 to 2010, a result of climate change. This might not seem like a lot, but the lead author of the study suggests it is. According to Dr. Chris Free a 4 percent decline is 1.4 million metric tons of fish from 1930 to 2010. The warming of the ocean due to climate change is already having a serious impact on the seafood industry.
Dr. Free notes that fish provide a vital source of protein for over half of the global population, and roughly 56 million people worldwide are supported by marine fisheries. In East Asia the ecosystems have been hit particularly hard, because this area is home to some of the largest growing populations that are highly dependent on seafood. The oceans have absorbed roughly 93 percent of the heat that is trapped by greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere. Disastrously, this increase in water temperature has forced fish to move where they live in search of more preferable climates. This affects not only fish but the sources of food they rely on.
In half of the regions studied fish populations did not fare well. For example, the northeast Atlantic Ocean saw a 34% decline in sustainable catches. There were other important trends found in the data. Warm areas turned out even worse when they were overfished. The researches suggest that this is because overfishing meant that fish populations were even more vulnerable to warming temperatures because it harmed their ability to reproduce. Furthermore, fish in colder regions did better than those in warmer water, because the extra heat was just too much. This study highlights that climate change is adversely affecting fisheries, and something needs to be done to account for the loss in productivity.
This topic is related to our class because warming oceans are negatively affecting the earth’s ecosystems. As oceans warm, fish die or are forced to move out of the area, which affects the rest of the food chain. Additionally, this emphasizes environmental sustainability. We need to be able to meet the current human need for fish, but we also cannot compromise the needs of future generations by consuming too much. In order to address this problem I think we need to implement the changes that Dr. Free suggests at the end of the article. Reducing catch limits in warmer years and increasing catch limits in cooler years would balance out productivity. Not overfishing and regulating fisheries will have a positive impact, but unless we all do our part to slow the effects of climate change this problem will persist.
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I like how you point out that 4.1% might not seem like a lot, but it actually amounts to 1.4 million metric tons of fish, which does sound like a lot! When I think of fish and the environment, the first thing that comes to my mind is overfishing. I never really thought about how rising sea temperatures could also adversely affect fish.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see the data from 1930-2010 because not a lot of people look from the start/beginning of the data, therefore being misinformed about the actual damage that is taking place. It's sad to know that besides worrying about microplastics in our fish due to the mass plastic pollution in the ocean, we need to worry about these topics as well like the heating and cooling of the oceans.
ReplyDeleteI really liked all the statistics that you incorporated into this. By adding those it made it more real. I thought you did a really nice job stressing the fact that this is a problem that is increasing.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting as in the years I have gone fishing I have noticed the depletion of fish over the years. We need to conserve the amount of fish we have otherwise extinction of species is inevitable.
ReplyDeleteThe statistics in this were super helpful with showing us the true impact that warming waters have on our fish populations. As time goes on, we are truly beginning to see the effects that our actions have on the environments around us, it leaves us with the question, "how do we fix it?".
ReplyDeleteI like how you showed the changes in data over the years because it really puts everything in perspective.
ReplyDeleteI wish you had explained this further: " For example, the northeast Atlantic Ocean saw a 34% decline in sustainable catches. ". What do you mean by sustainable catches?
ReplyDeleteGreat topic and really great information! I am glad you used numbers and data from previous years and put it all together to give a bigger picture! Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for providing so many accurate stats. It definitely made this read even better. We have talked about overfishing in class and I like how you expand on that information.
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