January 31, 2022 — Tensions between countries are likely to rise with the global temperature as valuable fish stocks fleeing warmer waters cross into different national boundaries, a new study suggests.
The climate crisis will push 45 per cent of the world’s shared fish stocks away from historic habitat ranges and migration routes by 2100, posing a challenge for international co-operation, said senior author William Cheung.
“Fish don’t recognize political boundaries,” said Cheung, associate professor with the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.
Fishing allocations, who gets what and how much, are political constructs based on an existing range of conventions and treaties, but these agreements are going to have to adapt to new realities if global emission rates continue, Cheung said.
Overall, climate change is pushing transboundary stocks to fishing grounds closer to the Poles and in many cases, the shift is already happening, he said, adding shifts on the Pacific coast of Central America and West Africa will occur primarily along the equator.