June 21, 2018 — World conflict is likely to increase over access to fisheries, as species move north in response to a warming ocean, according to a Rutgers University study published last week in the journal Science.
“Seventy or more countries will likely have to start sharing with their neighbors” in coming decades, said lead author Malin Pinsky, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The danger comes from overfishing when countries can’t cooperate, he said. Consumers and economies are harmed by overexploitation.
“If there’s a fish fight, you end up with less fish for everyone — less fish on every plate, fewer jobs for local economies and less profit for local businesses,” said Pinsky, 37, an assistant professor in Rutgers’ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources who is soon to be an associate professor.
The right to harvest particular species of fish is usually decided by national and regional fishery management bodies, which assume species don’t move much, Pinsky said.
“Well, they’re moving now because climate change is warming ocean temperatures,” he said. Studies have estimated the oceans have absorbed about 93 percent of recent increases in global temperatures.