Climate change could cause reduced catches of cod and herring and spell the end of Salmon farms
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Climate change is causing increased warming of seas off the Irish coast and could lead to reduced catches of mackerel, cod, and herring, and even spell the end of salmon farms.
In order to survive, the fishing industry will have to adapt to catching new species which are already increasing as our seas warm, such as anchovies, hake, and some types of sardines.
Other ‘warm water' species are likely to follow them into our waters in the years ahead.
Dr Glen Nolan, the Marine Institute’s head of oceanographic and climate services, said ongoing studies show likely changes in seafood populations in Irish waters.
He said salmon farms could be under threat as the fish get “stressed” if the water temperature goes over 17C, which is likely to become more commonplace in the years ahead.
Increased water temperatures also put extra stress on shellfish.
Herring, cod, and mackerel are likely to move further north to the colder waters, which is already being witnessed by increased catches of these species off Norway and Iceland.
Dr Nolan said researchers have seen an increase in plankton in Irish waters.
“They used to just bloom in the spring and autumn, but there’s an extension of this now,” he said.
Data on sea temperatures stretches back around 50 years and shows an increase in the frequency and longevity of ‘marine heat waves’.
“This year they [marine heatwaves] occurred in Irish waters from around mid-May to late June,” Dr Nolan said.
Despite the changes, he is confident the fishing community will be able to adapt to the changes.
“It will take a long period of time to reverse climate change in our waters. I have, though, a degree of optimism that the fishing community will be able to adapt in the interim.
We're working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to assemble the evidence of climate change and its impacts. We have to provide them with the science to point them in the right direction,” he said.
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