As shown through future projections from various models, climate change will impact the distribution of fish and fisheries around the globe. Such changes are expected to disrupt current fisheries, alter species interactions, and possibly bring about conflicts over quota allocations.
With previous studies demonstrating that fish and fisheries are responding to shifts in environmental conditions in selected regions, the Joint PICES/ICES Workshop on Global Assessment of the Implications of Climate Change on the Spatial Distribution of Fish and Fisheries (WKSICCME-Spatial) will
study the distribution of fish stocks and projected responses to climate change.
An overview of observations and model projections is needed to start developing a global synthesis of the implications of climate change on fish and fisheries. The workshop participants will review the available observations and model output, aiming to develop regional and latitudinal differences in the vulnerability of species or species groups to climate change-induced shifts in ocean conditions. The synthesis will be used to inform future decisions regarding the governance and management of marine resources.
The workshop is organized under the umbrella of SICCME, an Initiative on Climate Change Impacts on Marine Ecosystems, set up by ICES and PICES (the North Pacific Marine Science Organization) to coordinate northern hemisphere efforts to understand, estimate and predict the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.