Cheung, W. W. L., & Frölicher, T. L. (2020). Marine heatwaves exacerbate climate change impacts for fisheries in the northeast Pacific. Scientific Reports, 10 (1), 6678. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63650-z
Summary:
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have occurred in all ocean basins with severe negative impacts on coastal and ocean ecosystems. The northeast Pacific 2013–2015 MHW received major societal concerns. Yet, the knowledge about how MHWs impact fish stocks is limited. The authors of this study combined various model outputs to simulate responses of major northeast Pacific fish stocks to MHWs and showed that MHWs cause biomass decrease and shifts in biogeography of fish stocks with projected a doubling of impact levels by 2050 amongst the most important fisheries species over previous assessments. The authors stress the additional challenges from MHWs for fisheries and their management under climate change.
Policy relevant message:
Marine Heat Waves have occurred in all ocean basins with severe negative impacts on coastal and ocean ecosystems. They cause biomass decrease and shifts in biogeography of fish stocks with projected a doubling of impact levels by 2050 amongst the most important fisheries species over previous assessments.