Reconciling fisheries catch and ocean productivity
Copyright policy )Reconciling fisheries catch and ocean productivity
SignificancePhytoplankton provide the energy that sustains marine fish populations. The relationship between phytoplankton productivity and fisheries catch, however, is complicated by uncertainty in catch estimates, fishing effort, and marine food web dynamics. We enlist global data sources and a high-resolution earth system model to address these uncertainties. Results show that cross-ecosystem fisheries catch differences far exceeding differences in phytoplankton production can be reconciled with fishing effort and variations in marine food web structure and energy transfer efficiency. Food web variations explaining contemporary fisheries catch act to amplify projected catch trends under climate change, suggesting catch changes that may exceed a factor of 2 for some regions. Failing to account for this would hinder adaptation to climate change.
- University of Tasmania Australia
- University of South Carolina Lancaster United States
- College of New Jersey United States
- University of British Columbia Canada
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration United States
Food Chain, Climate Change, Oceans and Seas, Fisheries, 551, Models, Biological, 333, Animals, Ecosystem, Fishes, Plankton, ocean productivity, Adaptation, Physiological, climate change, food webs, fisheries catch, primary production
Food Chain, Climate Change, Oceans and Seas, Fisheries, 551, Models, Biological, 333, Animals, Ecosystem, Fishes, Plankton, ocean productivity, Adaptation, Physiological, climate change, food webs, fisheries catch, primary production
