Climate change–related shifts in species distribution are widely documented across the globe. Distribution shifts create many challenges for fisheries management, fishery operations, and marine spatial planning. Species that shift across jurisdictional and management boundaries, for instance, pose challenges for existing management processes, participation mechanisms, and quota-sharing arrangements. Differential spatial or temporal shifts among species alter interactions of fisheries with non-target species, with protected species, and with one another. Further, as spatial-planning efforts attempt to support multiple uses of ocean areas, relying on past patterns may prove ineffective for ongoing species-distribution changes.
In this session, we look beyond the documenting of distribution shifts to advance a deeper understanding of the impacts and challenges such shifts create for effective fisheries and ecosystem management efforts. We focus on (1) approaches to responding to species distribution shifts, e.g. dynamic management measures, decision support tools, and resilience planning; (2) analyses of the effectiveness of specific measures or approaches.
We invite contributions on topics such as
- Impacts of species distribution shifts on fishery or ecosystem management efforts;
- Adaptation approaches to supporting fisheries operations, fishery management, and ecosystem management in the context of species distribution shifts;
- Assessment of the effectiveness of and trade-offs among adaptation or management strategies; and
- Scientific, institutional, or policy supports needed to advance the capacity to accommodate species distribution shifts.
