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A global consortium of marine biologists warned that climate change is devastating marine life, threatening Asian countries the most. According to them, by 2100, the highest proportion of fish species—86 per cent— within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Asian nations are likely to be at high or critical climate risk, compared to 77 per cent in North America; 73 per cent in Oceania and 71 per cent in Africa.
By this period, ‘the greatest proportion of high or critical risk species is likely to be in the Indian high seas with 56 per cent followed by 42 per cent in the North Pacific oceans’, they said.
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This was the major highlight of a special workshop attended by fishery experts from Regional Fisheries Bodies (RFBs) in the Indo-Pacific region, held at the ongoing international conclave on mainstreaming climate change into international fisheries governance in Mahabalipuram.
The conclave is being organised under the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries, Government of India, and the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO).
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Tarub Bahri, a climate expert and fishery resources officer at the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of the FAO, said that warming of the ocean had an adverse impact on productivity.
“On an average, the maximum catch potential is projected to decrease by up to 12 per cent by 2050, but with large geographical variations,” she said.
Forecast models
Isara Chanrachkij of the South East Asian Fisheries Development Centre has proposed development of stock assessment and forecast models to conserve biodiversity mitigate impacts of climate change on fisheries.
Enhanced ecosystem services provided by seaweed farming and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system are crucial to reduce climate risks, he added.
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