Mamallapuram (Tamil Nadu), Oct 18 Marine biologists at an international conference here warned that the marine life of Asian countries would be affected the most due to climate change.
According to marine biologists, by 2100 the highest proportion of fish species, 86 per cent, within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Asian nations is likely to be at high or critical climate risk, compared to 77 per cent in North America, 73 per cent in Oceania and 71 per cent in Africa.
The experts from Regional Fisheries Bodies (RFB) in the Indo-Pacific Region were at the special workshop held at the International Conclave on Mainstreaming Climate Change into International Fisheries Governance and Strengthening of Fisheries Management Measures in the Indo-Pacific Region.
The three-day conclave is being organised under the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries, Government of India, and the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO).
According to Tarub Bahri, a climate expert and fishery resources officer at the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of the FAO, the warming of the oceans has an adverse impact on productivity and in average, the maximum catch potential is projected to decrease by up to 12 per cent by 2050, but with large geographical variations.
“Projections based on climate scenarios indicate that the global biomass of marine animals is likely to decrease by up to 21 per cent. Tropical regions are expected to experience a greater decrease compared to the global average”, she added.
Dr Dan Crear representing Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission suggested that preparing for climate change requires building species distribution models, processing large environmental databases, understanding the relationship between environmental variables and species and conducting participatory approaches with all stakeholders in the sector.
Dr Isara Chanrachkij of the South East Asian Fisheries Development Centre proposed developing stock assessment and forecast models as a tool towards biodiversity conservation and to mitigate impacts of climate change to fisheries. Enhanced ecosystem services provided by seaweed farming and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system are crucial to reduce climate risks, he added.
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