March 1, 2019 — Climate change is endangering fish worldwide, shrinking populations by up to 35% in coastal regions near China and Japan, scientists say.
Ocean warming has led to a 4% global decline in sustainable catches, the greatest amount of fish that can be caught without depleting stocks long-term, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science.
Using global data on fisheries and ocean temperature maps, scientists from Rutgers University in New Jersey analyzed changes in sustainable catches triggered by temperature rises between 1930 and 2010.
The scientists said they were “stunned” to discover that global warming has significantly affected fish stocks worldwide and warned that the decline could threaten the livelihoods and food supplies of millions of people.
More than 56 million people worldwide work in the fishing industry, and seafood provides up to half of all animal protein eaten in developing countries, the scientists said.
The most drastic decline was recorded in Asia’s coastal regions, including the East China Sea and Japan’s Kuroshio Current, where stocks plummeted by 15% to 35% over the past 80 years.
“Ecosystems in East Asia have seen enormous declines in productivity. These areas have particularly rapid warming [and] also have historically high levels of overfishing,” said lead researcher Chris Free, a quantitative ecologist at the University of California,