For some people, climate change is just a theoretical possibility. But ask fishermen, and many will tell you that climate-related changes in marine and coastal ecosystems are well underway.
Along the Atlantic Coast, many species of commercially valuable species of fish are moving north or deeper to stay within their preferred temperature range. In 2012, lobsters in the Gulf of Maine, spurred by high temperatures, started their summer migration a month early and grew to market size faster than usual. The result was a saturated market and a price collapse for Maine lobstermen. From shrinking Arctic sea ice to west coast droughts, bleaching corals and rising seas, our world is changing and we need to respond to help safeguard these valuable ecosystems and the people who depend on them.
Climate-related changes are happening all along our coasts. These changes could significantly impact people, businesses, communities and the nation. There is much at risk. Many coastal communities depend on fishing and tourism, and climate-related changes are projected to affect jobs, impact economies and disrupt traditional ways of life.
Climate change affects every aspect of the NOAA Fisheries mission from fisheries management to protected species conservation. Climate change and the associated problem of ocean acidification are increasing the vulnerability of fish stocks and protected species, from seals and whales to sea turtles and salmon. These dual stressors are also impacting habitats from coastal watersheds and rivers to estuaries and oceans. And nowhere is the challenge of both using and protecting marine ecosystems so starkly revealed as in the pristine but fast-changing Arctic ecosystems.
The oceans are dynamic systems. That’s why striking the right balance between use and protection of marine and coastal resources has always been a complicated process, whether its setting fishing levels, reducing by-catch, recovering endangered species, or considering permits for oil and gas exploration. Incorporating climate change into decision-making makes these efforts more challenging than ever before. Increased information, tools and action are essential to meeting these challenges.
This NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy (Strategy) was developed to meet the growing demand for information to better prepare for and respond to climate-related impacts on the nation’s living marine resources and resource-dependent communities. The Strategy is part of a proactive approach to increase the production, delivery and use of climate-related information to fulfill NOAA Fisheries mandates in a changing climate. Implementing this Strategy will help reduce impacts and increase the resilience of our valuable living marine resources, and the people, businesses and communities that depend on them.