Introduction: Empirical observations and climate models both indicate that global climate and ocean conditions have been changing over the last 100 years and will likely change more rapidly in the future. Major changes include ocean warming, acidification, and expansion of oxygen minimum zones (Brierley & Kingsford 009). Biological responses to these ocean changes have been observed in the marine biomes (Perry et al. 2005; Cheung et al. 2009). For instance, nearly two-thirds of exploited marine fishes in the North Sea shifted in mean latitude or depth or both over 25 years as sea temperature increased (Perry et al.

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A new World Bank study, authored with contributions by Rashid Sumaila and William Cheung, predicts that the global fisheries sector is likely to lose an estimated $US 9.64 billion in revenues in the year 2050 due to climate change. A draft version of the full report, available here, explains that under one possible climate change and fisheries management scenario, developed countries could expect to lose US$ 2.64 billion per year while the effect on developing countries could be as high as US$ 7 billion.

Photo by Jason Dunn.…