Effects of climate change on the fish stocks in the high north seas ScanBalt Academy Meeting 2010, Svalbard Recent Ecological, Biological and Medical Challenges in the High North Geir Odd Johansen
Dec 17, 2015
Effects of climate change on the fish stocks in the high north seas
ScanBalt Academy Meeting 2010, SvalbardRecent Ecological, Biological and Medical Challenges in the High North
Geir Odd Johansen
Overview
• Focus on the Barents Sea• Climate variation on different time scales• Important fish species• Effects of climate variation
– Geographical distribution– Biological production
• Climate variation and the marine ecosystem• Possible consequences for the fisheries
Where two climate regimes meet
• In the Arctic warm and cold waters meet
• Cold waters is ice covered during winter
• Climate change impacts differently on these regions
• The biological communities differ between these regions
• Boreal fish species vs. arctic fish species
The Barents Sea climate
Climate variation at different time scales
The Barents Sea climate
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 20002 .5
3
3 .5
4
4 .5
5
Tem
pe
ratu
re [
C]
o
Human Influence?
Year-to -year variation
Decadal variation
Multi-decadal variation
Heating of the Barents Sea
• Marine organisms have the same body temperature as their environment (except mammals)
• Temperature influences several processes in the ecosystem– Direct effects on metabolism and body functions– Indirect effects through food availability– May also serve as an indicator of other factors,
such as intensity of transport by ocean currents
The Barents Sea climate
Winter Summer
Change from present to 2050-2065
Fish species in the Barents Sea
• More than 200 species from 70 families have been registered
• Boreal vs. Arctic species• Pelagic vs. benthic species• Several of them have parts of their life cycle
outside the Barents Sea
Fish species
Boreal species
• Northeast Arctic cod (Gadus morhua L.)
• Important predator in the system
• Benthic to bentho-pelagic
Fish species
Boreal species
• Northeast Arctic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus L.)
• Benthic to bentho-pelagic
Fish species
Boreal species
• Norwegian spring-spawning herring (Clupea harengus L.)
• Barents Sea only as nursery area
Fish species
Arctic species
• Capelin (Mallotus villosus Müller, 1776)
• Important forage fish for several predators
• Pelagic
Fish species
Arctic species
• Polar cod (Boreogadus saida Lepechin, 1774)
• Pelagic fish• Important at the
ice edge
Fish species
Other interesting species
• Blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou Risso, 1827)
• Entering the BS from south-west
• High abundance in 2001-2007
• Interact with other species
Fish species
Distribution area Spawning area
Other interesting species
• Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus L.)– Observed at least as north as 74°N– Recently caught off the Murman coast
• Several fish species related to benthic habitats (e.g. eelpouts (Zoarcidae) and sculpins (Cottidae)– Habitat specific– Sensitive to temperature variation
Fish species
Factors influencing geographical distribution
Effects on geographical distribution
Planque et al. 2010
spatial distribution
geographical attachment
environmental conditions
density dependent
habitat selection
spatial dependency
demographic structure
Persistence
species interactions
Distribution of NEA cod
Effects on geographical distribution
50° E30° E
50° E30° E10° E
75°
N70
° N
75°
N70
° N
1994
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
71.5
72.0
72.5
73.0
Year
Ce
ntr
e o
f gra
vity
, co
d >
45
cm
, °N
74
75
76
77
78
Ice
co
ver
- so
uth
ern
lim
it, °
N
Distribution of NEA cod
In the Barents Sea, cod appeared in large quantities on Bear Island Bank in response to the warming of the early 20th century, resulting in the reestablishment of a cod fishery there after an absence of almost 40 years (Blacker, 1957). Cod also penetrated farther east to Novaya Zemlya and north of West Svalbard, during the 1920s (Beverton and Lee, 1965). Similar effects at west Greenland and Iceland.
Drinkwater 2005
Effects on geographical distribution
Spawning sites of NEA cod
Effects on geographical distribution
Cold periods:- Southwards displacement- Decreasing spawning biomass
Hot periods - Northwards displacement- Increasing spawning biomass
Sundby and Nakken (2008) IJMS
NEA cod the first year of life
Effects on geographical distribution
• Easterly shift in centre of distribution during the period 1980–2007
• Magnitude of shift:– Cod: 120 km– Herring: 160 km– Haddock: 90 km– Capelin: 220 km
Centre of distribution (east) of 0-group cod, haddock, herring, and capelin
Marine organisms are ecto-thermic
• Marine organisms are embedded within in the physical environment
• Bio-physical coupling: the organisms interact with the physical environment
• Marine organisms have the same body temperature as their environment (except marine mammals)
• Direct effects of environmental temperature on metabolism and body functions
Effects on biological production
Stock abundance and production
• High abundance of cod, haddock and herring
Effects on biological production
Stock abundance and production
• Increased production in northeastern seas• High stock biomass is due to a combination
of low mortality and high growth rate• Note that high growth rate depends on
sufficient food!• Lack of food at high temperatures can
seriously affect the stocks– Energy allocated to metabolism and digestion
Effects on biological production
A complex interplay
• Direct effects of temperature– Modified through the complex interplay in the
ecosystem• Between organisms and physics• Between different species
• Food availability and recruitment of fish– Vertical distribution of copepods
• Timing important for transport• Important for the geographical distribution
– Availability to juvenile fish• Spatial coherence between fish and copepods
The ecosystem
Fisheries and global warming
• The ecosystem is dynamic– It is not given that a temperature increase leads to
the expected movement of the fish or increased production
• What is the relationship between geographical distribution of fish and fishermen?
• Do they follow each other tightly?
Consequences for the fisheries
Fisheries and global warming
Consequences for the fisheries
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
70
.07
0.5
71
.0
Year
Ce
ntr
e o
f gra
vity
, No
rw c
od
tra
wl f
ish
ery
, °N
20 25 30
69
.57
0.0
70
.57
1.0
71
.57
2.0
72
.57
3.0
Longitude, °E
La
titu
de
, °N
19811982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
19971998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
20042005
2006
2007
2008
1981
1982
19831984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
19951996
1997
19981999
2000
2001
20022003
2004 2005
20062007
2008
Cod stock
Cod trawlfishery
Fisheries and global warming
• The fishery is influenced also by other parameters than just availability of fish– Distance to landing sites and home port– Traditional fishing grounds
• Bottom type must be suitable for trawling
– Size and species available in the area• Avoiding by-catches
– Distribution of other stocks• Trawlers may shift between different target species, e.g. cod
and saithe
– Fuel expenses, time spent travelling and catching
Effects on the fisheries
Future challenges
“Prediction is very difficult, especially of the future” Niels Bohr, Danish physicist (1885 - 1962)
Temperature in the Kola hydrographic section
2,5
3,0
3,5
4,0
4,5
5,0
5,5
6,0
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080
Temperatur
År ?
Year-to-year variation Long-time trend Long-term prognosis
”unknown situation”
”known situation”