Fisheries, aquaculture and aquatic systems in a changing climate

On the occasion of the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, the Global Partnership on Climate, Fisheries and Aquaculture (PaCFA) hosted at the European Environment Agency on 15th December a side event on “Fisheries, aquaculture and aquatic systems in a changing climate”. A deeper look was given at the implications of climate change on the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture and its impacts on food and livelihood security. To adapt to this new situation, international, regional and local solutions are implemented.

Conclusions by the Chair, Cassandra De Young,  (FAO) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

•    We learned about the importance of fisheries and aquaculture for food and livelihood security and the links to other aquatic ecosystems services upon which we depend.

•    Climate change is one of the drivers of change for the sector. 

•    Vulnerability is context specific and depends on the expected impacts, sensitivity of the sector/community to change and the adaptive capacity.

•    Proper management of fisheries and aquaculture and other uses of aquatic resources, such as eliminating over capacity and harmful practices and implementing integrated and holistic approaches (e.g. coastal zone management and ecosystem approaches) will help to maintain resilience of the human and natural systems and, hence, to adapt to climate change.

•    As fish refuse to follow human boundaries, there is a need for cooperation at the global and regional scales.

•    The fisheries and aquaculture sector cannot act alone and, therefore, must coordinate its efforts with other sectors and institutions.

•    Scientists and researchers play an important role in understanding the biophysical changes expected, their impacts on the fisheries resources and understanding the vulnerability of the aquatic systems and those communities that depend on these resources.

•    We were reminded that this is not an academic exercise. There is a need to understand the issues that fish folk and fish farmers face, whether they stem from climate change or otherwise and the need to enhance the small-scale sector and dependent communities’ ability to participate in information collection and communication systems as well as in developing context specific adaptation and mitigation strategies.