Tuesday July 9, 2024
PhysOrg —
New research predicts significant shifts in marine fish communities in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans as a result of climate warming.
The Nord University-led study projects a change in key fish biomass and suggests that Arctic demersal fish will be at risk of local extinction by the end of the century if no climate refugia is available at eastern latitudes.
The international team of experts, involving Newcastle University experts, analyzed data from 16,345 fishery-independent trawls conducted between 2004 and 2022, focusing on 107 marine fish species in the northeast Atlantic, including the Barents Sea. They used advanced modeling techniques to project changes in species distribution and biomass under three future climate scenarios for the years 2050 and 2100.
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the findings show that while some warmer-water fish are moving into the Arctic, they won’t fully replace the loss of traditional Arctic species. This shift may result in fewer fish overall, especially of the presently most abundant species, despite an increase in the number of species.