The marine heat wave generating record temperatures in the North Atlantic could have “a devastating impact” on key fish populations of commercial importance and move others northward, the organization Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) warns.
Species such as mackerel, Atlanto-Scandinavian herring and blue whiting, which rely on the colder waters of the North Atlantic for their reproduction, may be affected by ocean warming, limiting their ability to spawn and reducing their numbers fishing decreasessays MSC in a statement released this Thursday.
MSC, the non-governmental organization that sets a global standard for sustainable fishing, also says warming seas could still affect the movement of fish northward towards cooler temperatures, so governments need to work together, across national borders, to “ensure effective monitoring and management”. of shared fish stocks”.
“These species are already being overexploited because major fishing nations such as EU countries, the UK, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Russia cannot agree on catch quotas. Overall fisheries in line with scientific advice,” the organization warns. states that this political impasse and the warming of the waters endanger the future health of fish stocks.
Without an agreement, MSC warns, the impact of climate change on fish populations will be even more severe. The warming of the seas, the organization illustrates, has caused some Atlanto-Scandinavian herring populations to decline by 40% between 2005 and 2015.
“We know that these pelagic species are sensitive to changes in temperature. We have already seen that climate influences their distribution, their spawning capacity and their mortality rates. The rapid warming of the seas could accelerate these changes,” he says, quoted in the MSC statement, Olav Sigurd Kjesbu, Principal Scientist at the Norwegian Marine Research Institute.
Source: DN
