Climate Change and California Fisheries

We led a working group to explore impacts of climate change on fish stocks and associated fishing communities in California

Available now!

Readying California Fisheries for Climate Change

A scientific guidance document developed by California Ocean Science Trust and the Climate Change and Fisheries Working Group of the OPC Science Advisory Team

Download the full report: Readying California Fisheries For Climate Change

Report Summary

Key findings and background from the longer report

Download the summary

OVERVIEW

California fisheries are at risk from a variety of impacts including a changing climate. The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) provided funding to Ocean Science Trust to convene an interdisciplinary OPC Science Advisory Team (OPC-SAT) working group to provide guidance to the state on the potential impacts of climate change on fisheries as well as deliver science-based approaches to manage these impacts.

SCOPE AND PURPOSE

Project timeline: January 2016 – May 2017

This project was developed for consideration by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to help inform the state’s process to amend the Marine Life Management Act (MLMA) Master Plan. Products from this project have been submitted to CDFW for review and may be integrated, in full or in part, into a draft Master Plan Amendment. Additional information about the Master Plan amendment process, including key resources and opportunities for stakeholder engagement, is available at https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Master-Plan.

OUTPUTS

Scientific Guidance Document: Readying California Fisheries for Climate Change

  • Synthesizes the current understanding of climate change impacts on fisheries (state-managed fish and invertebrate stocks and associated fishing communities)
  • Identifies four future climate change scenarios
  • Presents a suite of management approaches that could be adopted by state managers to prepare for climate change

 

OPC-SAT CLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES WORKING GROUP MEMBERS

Francisco P. Chavez (co-chair), Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Christopher Costello (co-chair), University of California, Santa Barbara

Barry Wayne McCovey Jr., Yurok Tribe Fisheries Program

Holly Doremus, University of California, Berkeley

Carrie Pomeroy, California Sea Grant, UCSD & UCSC

Madeleine Hall-Arber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nathan Mantua, NOAA/NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center

Bill Sydeman, Farallon Institute  

Debbie Aseltine-Neilson, California Department of Fish and Wildlife

John Field, NOAA/NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center

Steve Gaines, University of California, Santa Barbara

Ocean Science Trust leads: Leila Sievanen, Sarah Wheeler      

OPC lead: Paige Berube

Writing Support: Diana Pietri, Blue Earth Consultants

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