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Signature of ocean warming in global fisheries catch
Citation
Cheung, WWL and Watson, R and Pauly, D, Signature of ocean warming in global fisheries catch, Nature, 497, (7449) pp. 365-368. ISSN 0028-0836 (2013) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited
Abstract
Marine fishes and invertebrates respond to ocean warming through
distribution shifts, generally to higher latitudes and deeper waters.
Consequently, fisheries should be affected by ‘tropicalization’ of
catch1–4 (increasing dominance of warm-water species). However,
a signature of such climate-change effects on global fisheries catch
has so far not been detected. Here we report such an index, the mean
temperature of the catch (MTC), that is calculated from the average
inferred temperature preference of exploited species weighted by
their annual catch. Our results show that, after accounting for the
effects of fishing and large-scale oceanographic variability, global
MTC increased at a rate of 0.19 degrees Celsius per decade between
1970 and 2006, and non-tropical MTC increased at a rate of 0.23
degrees Celsius per decade. In tropical areas,MTCincreased initially
because of the reduction in the proportion of subtropical species
catches, but subsequently stabilized as scope for further tropicalization
of communities became limited. Changes in MTC in 52 large
marine ecosystems, covering the majority of the world’s coastal and
shelf areas, are significantly and positively related to regional
changes in sea surface temperature5. This study shows that ocean
warming has already affected global fisheries in the past four decades,
highlighting the immediate need to develop adaptation plans
to minimize the effect of such warming on the economy and food
security of coastal communities, particularly in tropical regions6,7.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Research Division: | Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences |
Research Group: | Fisheries sciences |
Research Field: | Aquaculture and fisheries stock assessment |
Objective Division: | Animal Production and Animal Primary Products |
Objective Group: | Fisheries - wild caught |
Objective Field: | Wild caught fin fish (excl. tuna) |
UTAS Author: | Watson, R (Professor Reginald Watson) |
ID Code: | 84623 |
Year Published: | 2013 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 498 |
Deposited By: | Sustainable Marine Research Collaboration |
Deposited On: | 2013-05-23 |
Last Modified: | 2014-07-23 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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