A new study by the University of British Columbia found that effective fisheries management at a local level can reduce the probability of extinction risk for vulnerable species such as dusky sharks by as much as 63 percent.
“Effective fisheries management plans, coupled with actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions, both separately, but especially in tandem, would have an immediate effect on the number of marine species that face extinction,” said William Cheung, lead author and Associate Professor in the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia. “We can save hundreds of fish stocks from becoming endangered species with sustainable fisheries and low greenhouse gas emissions.”
Researchers looked at 825 exploited marine fish species across the global ocean, and analyzed their extinction risks due to climate change and fishing impacts. They calculated a conservation risk index for these species based on the ocean changes that they are, and will be, exposed to, their biological sensitivity to climate change, and potential ability to adapt. Their results showed that 499 of the assessed species are projected to experience very high risk from both overfishing and climate change under a ‘business?as?usual’ scenario, by 2050. They found that this risk level is equivalent to having at least one fifth of these species listed as vulnerable or endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species.
Sharks and rays, such as the dusky smooth hound shark, have the highest extinction risk under historical fishing and climate change scenarios, according to the study. The study indicated that the estimated combination of climate and fishing risks means that they are even more likely to become extinct.
“Our study showed the need to support adaptation to climate change, while insuring effective fisheries management in these regions,” said Gabriel Reygondeau, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and co-author on the paper. “Some actions are already underway; for example, nine nations and the European Union agreed to prohibit commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean for at least 16 years starting in 2017. Similar proactive planning for the potential interactions between climate change and fishing is needed.”