Fish biomass loss possible in Atlantic Canada amid rising emissions, researcher says
A new study is predicting a steep decline in global fish populations — including species in Atlantic Canada — by the end of the century if unchecked greenhouse gas emissions continue.
Canadian fisheries vulnerable as water temperatures rise in the northwest Atlantic, marine ecologist says
A new study is predicting a steep decline in global fish populations — including species in Atlantic Canada — by the end of the century if unchecked greenhouse gas emissions continue.
The 108-page report published last week by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations projects that with an average temperature increase of 3 to 4 C, fish biomass would decline by more than 30 per cent by 2100 in 48 countries.
A low carbon emissions scenario — or 1.5 to 2 C warming — by contrast projects less than a 10 per cent loss of fish worldwide.
Andrea Bryndum-Buchholz, a marine ecologist at Memorial University who contributed to the study, says Canadian fisheries are vulnerable as water temperatures rise in the northwest Atlantic.
The study shows three-quarters of the east coast’s protected marine areas — regions that maintain the long-term conservation of marine species — fall within climate change hot spots, where waters are expected to warm at higher rates.
Areas in Atlantic Canada where there are expected warming and biomass declines include the Scotian Shelf, which follows the south shore of Nova Scotia, and the Laurentian Channel, which is between Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland.
