Climate change impacts on Canadian fishing and seafood supply

Climate change is already affecting ocean conditions, including warming, acidification, deoxygenation and sea-level rise. These changes are affecting marine species globally, with subsequent impacts on marine fisheries, peoples’ livelihoods, and food security. The magnitude of these changes are more prevalent in developing nations and tropical countries, yet the risk of climate impacts on developed nations is not negligible. Shifts in stock distribution and fish abundance under climate change could impact seafood available to Indigenous peoples and tens of thousands of other Canadians. Achieving the Paris Agreement target of limiting atmospheric warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels could mitigate projected declines in fish biomass, with benefits for ocean life, economies and people. In this work, I conduct a systematic literature review on the impacts of climate change on Canada's Pacific marine ecosystems and fisheries, highlighting its critical effects on them. I then examine climate impacts on Canada’s marine fisheries and seafood supply under two greenhouse gas emissions scenarios that correspond to alternative futures with global warming of 1.5° and 3.5°C relative to pre-industrial levels. Finally, I conduct a semi-quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of ocean-based solutions in British Columbia to mitigate climate change and reduce its impacts on the marine ecosystems and fisheries of the Province. My results indicate that the 1.5°C warming scenario could protect marine catches directed to Canada’s seafood supply by up to 11% and reduce Canadian household seafood expenditures by US$ 528 million annually, relative to a 3.5°C global warming scenario. The results also show that the full implementation of marine renewable energy in British Columbia could reduce GHG emissions by ~270 MT per year, filling the gap between current emissions and Canada’s Paris Agreement pledge to reduce emission by 30% below 2005 levels. While the effectiveness of marine renewables to reduce climate change depends on a global achievement of mitigation targets, solutions such as restoring vegetation, marine protected areas and pollution reduction show potential to address climate impacts locally (e.g., ocean acidification and sea-level rise). The findings offer evidence to support the benefits of carbon emissions mitigation in reducing seafood supply vulnerabilities to climate change.Science, Faculty ofResources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute forGraduat

Climate change impact on Canada's Pacific marine ecosystem: The current state of knowledge

Global warming is already affecting the oceans through changes in water temperature, acidification, oxygen content and sea level rise, amongst many others. These changes are having multiple effects on marine species worldwide, with subsequent impacts on marine fisheries, peoples' livelihoods and food security. This work presents a review of the recent literature on the current and projected impacts of climate change on Canada's Pacific marine ecosystem. We find that there is an increasing number of studies in British Columbia focusing on changes in ocean conditions and marine species responses under climate change, including an emerging literature on the socio-economic impacts of these changes considered to be a knowledge gap. According to the literature, it is well established that ocean temperatures are increasing over the long-term, especially, in southern areas of British Columbia. Warming trends are increasing in the spring and are strongest in summer. However, there are important uncertainties regarding other climate drivers, such as oxygen concentration and acidification, stemming mainly from the insufficiency of data. Pacific salmon, elasmobranchs, invertebrates and rockfishes are amongst the most vulnerable species groups to climate change in British Columbia. Also, shifts in stock distribution and fish abundance under climate change may have a significant impact on fish supply affecting the livelihoods and food security of some British Columbians. The magnitude of these impacts is likely to vary according to a latitudinal gradient, with southern coastal areas being more affected than northern and central areas; challenging multiple areas of governance, such as equity and fishing access amongst First Nations; and institutional arrangements for transboundary stocks between the U.S. and Canada

WTO must ban harmful fisheries subsidies

Sustainably managed wild fisheries support food and nutritional security, livelihoods, and cultures (1). Harmful fisheries subsidies—government payments that incentivize overcapacity and lead to overfishing—undermine these benefits yet are increasing globally (2). World Trade Organization (WTO) members have a unique opportunity at their ministerial meeting in November to reach an agreement that eliminates harmful subsidies (3). We—a group of scientists spanning 46 countries and 6 continents—urge the WTO to make this commitment..