Abstract

Climate change is already impacting the biology of the oceans and some dependent industries are in turn responding to these impacts. The development of response options for users of marine resources, such as fishers, is important in guiding adaptation efforts. However, harvesting fish is only the first step in a supply chain that delivers seafood to consumers. Impacts higher up the chain have seldom been considered in fisheries-climate research yet an understanding of these impacts and how climate risks and adaptation information are interpreted and used by stakeholders across the chain is vital for developing viable and sustainable adaptation options. We examined stakeholder perceptions of points where climate change impacts and adaptations currently occur, or may occur in the future, across the supply chains of several Australian fisheries (southern rock lobster, tropical rock lobster, prawn) and aquaculture sectors (oyster, aquaculture prawn). We found that climate change impacts are well understood at the harvest stage and there is evidence of potential impacts and disruption to supply chains. Yet, there currently is no strong driver for change higher up the chain. Holistic adaptation planning along the supply chain, underpinned by targeted information and policy for the catch, processing and distribution, and marketing phases is needed. This effort is needed now, as some adaptation options have long lead times, and a delay in adaptation planning may limit future options. Given potential lead times and associated uncertainty, a risk-based approach is recommended with regard to adaptation planning for Australia’s seafood sector.

Highlights

  • Anthropogenic climate change drivers such as global warming and ocean acidification are modifying the oceans and seas around the world

  • We examined stakeholder perceptions of points where climate change impacts and adaptations currently occur, or may occur in the future, across the supply chains of several Australian fisheries and aquaculture sectors

  • We found that climate change impacts are well understood at the harvest stage and there is evidence of potential impacts and disruption to supply chains

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Anthropogenic climate change drivers such as global warming and ocean acidification are modifying the oceans and seas around the world. Significant warming of ocean temperatures has been documented on both the east and west coasts (Ridgway, 2007; Pearce and Feng, 2007; Lough and Hobday, 2011). Such changes are in turn impacting coastal marine ecosystems (Ling et al, 2009; Last et al, 2011; Wernberg et al, 2011), by altering the distribution, growth, recruitment, and catch of exploited marine species, and/or their prey and.

Methods
Results
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call