Vulnerability of national economies to the impacts of climate change on fisheries

Vulnerability of national economies to the impacts of climate change on fisheries

Combining indicators of sensitivity to climate change and the adaptive capacity of 132 nations to respond to climate change, this paper identifies nations which are most vulnerable to climate change in their fisheries. Underlining the importance of fisheries to less industrialised nations, this paper finds that two-thirds of the most vulnerable nations are in tropical Africa, where, in many countries, fish accounts for more than half of daily animal protein consumption and where research indicates that fish production in both coastal and inland waters is highly sensitive to climate variations. Nations in South America and Asia were also identified as amongst the most vulnerable using this methodology.
This paper, "Vulnerability of national economies to the impacts of climate change on fisheries", is particularly interesting due to the holistic approach taken in the study.

In addition to considering the physical and chemical impacts of climate change on fisheries, this paper considers the social, economic and governance of each nation and makes note of the additional pressures on fisheries, including over harvesting of fish, habitat destruction and pollution. It concludes that climate adaptation measures must go hand in hand with efforts to confront other threats if the most vulnerable countries are to succeed in building sustainable livelihoods for fish-dependent people.

This paper, Edward H. Allison, Allison L. Perry, Marie-Caroline Badjeck, W. Neil Adger, Katrina Brown, Declan Conway, Ashley S. Halls, Graham M. Pilling, John D. Reynolds, Neil L. Andrew and Nicholas K. Dulvy. 2009. Vulnerability of national economies to the impacts of climate change on fisheries. Fish and Fisheries. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, can be read here.
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A summary of the paper can read below.