The Impacts of Changing Climateon the Local Seafood Industry

The Ocean’s Importance• Regulates the Earth System• Holds 97% of our Earth’s Water• Produce more than half of the oxygen in our atmosphere• Absorb some 93% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere• Worldwide half of the population live in coastal zones and a billion people rely on

fish as their main source of protein• Supports the greatest biodiversity on the planet• Economic Importance:

– US - $199 Billion Dollar Industry supporting 1.7 Million Jobs– California: $201 Million Dollar Ex-Vessel Revenue and 120,000 Jobs– California:

• 357 Million Pounds Landed in 2014– 227 Million Pounds of Squid– 18 Million Pounds of Dungeness Crab– 17 Million Pounds of Pacific Sardine

– In San Diego alone – approx. 130 Commercial Fishermen fish for rockfish,rock crab, urchin, sheepshead, albacore, swordfish, yellowfin/Bluefin tuna,and opah

“The Blob”

• Fall 2013 – abnormal weather system of high pressure formed over the Pacific Northwest Coast. – Shut down ocean-stirring winds and slowed

the heat exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean.

– Created a blob of warm water in the Gulf of Alaska.

• Spring 2014 – ocean warms rapidly off Baja and Southern California due to persistently weak winds

• Fall 2014 – due to a shift in the wind patterns, the blobs merged

• Water is warmer by 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit which dampened

• Wind driven upwelling typically brings cold, nutrient rich water to the surface, spurring the growth of algae essential to the food chain. But in 2014 & 2015 week wind meant this only occurred in Northern California & further north. Even there Upwelling only occurred close to the coastal strip.

“The Blob + El Nino”

Summer water temperatures. The impacted area of the California North Coast is circled.Credit: © California Department of Fish and Game March 30, 2016

California Dungeness Crab• Microscopic Algae stressed by high water

temperatures produced Damoic Acid.• Due to upwelling only occurring by the coast, animals

like the CA Dungeness Crab looking for phytoplanktonclose to shore, also ingested high amounts of DamoicAcid.

• Blooms of these algae usually only last a few weeks inEarly Spring & Autumn. In 2015, rather than taperingoff the algae remained for months at record levelsfrom Southern California to Alaska.

• Prolonged exposure of the Dungeness Crab to thisneurotoxin allowed it to seep into their flesh

• Fishery was closed for harvest from December 2015through March 2016 as a result

• $67 Million Dollar Fishery in CA

California Sardines• Population has plunged by over 90%

since 2007.• Due to a combination of factors:

– Overfishing coupled with– Cold waters preceding El Nino

caused lower spawning ratesamong the species.

• All commercial sardine fishing within200 miles of the US West Coast hasbeen banned for 2 years beginning in2015 by the Pacific FisheryManagement Council.

• Average $4 million dollar fisheryannually. Many Fishermen switched tofishing squid and anchovies.

• Effects higher up the food chain – exSea Lion pups starving and washing upon CA beaches.

California Sardines

Source: Thayer et al. (2013), unpublished data; "California Current Predator Diet Database: Predators on Forage Species."

California Squid• El Nino conditions will generally produce lower

squid landings.• 2014 – 114,000 tons landed, $72 Million

– October 2014 – 107,000 tons landed YTD– October 2015 – 34,000 tons landed YTD

• Higher water temperatures alter the numbers ofkrill and other small crustaceans squid thriveon.

• Fishermen typically catch squid in the shallow,nearshore areas where they spawn. Squid arediving deeper for food, deeper than the netscan reach.

• Concern that if squid eggs are deposited inwaters too cold, it will throw off the spawncycle if hatchlings emerge in the wrong season.

• Fishermen reporting to us that squid they havebeen catching are too small to clean and notcommercially viable.

California Department of Fish and Game

Bull Kelp & Sea Urchin – “Perfect Storm”• 2013 Sea Star Wasting Disease – killed large numbers

of sea stars off the North American West Coast. Seastars are important predators of the invertebrates thatlive in Kelp forests. Loss of these predators would latercreate a purple sea urchin boom.

• Purple urchins density is now 60 times greater thantheir historic density in Northern California. Purpleurchins are voracious consumers of kelp. Largeamounts of purple urchins can wipe out entire kelpbeds removing habitat for animals like Ling Cod,Lobster, and Rockfish.

• 2014/2015 – Water temperatures rise and manyspecies of kelp die in water 63 degrees and higherbecause of the lack of nutrients in the water.

• Since Kelp are weakened by lack of nutrition, they aremore susceptible to dislodgment by El Nino storms.

• In 2015, the Red Sea Urchin fishery experienced a 66%drop in catch and economic value due to the poorquality of the roe. Red Urchin are higher prized thanthe purple since they are larger and more marketable.

• Sea Urchin divers have reported poor meat fill of theurchins.

• Sea Urchins are a $9 million industry state-wide withparticular effort in San Diego & Santa Barbara

El Nino – A Harbinger of Stranger Things to Come?

• Fisheries Scientists have observed in the last 2 years:• Ocean Sunfish & Skipjack Tuna off the coast of Alaska• Green Sea Turtles usually found in Mexico in the San Francisco Bay• Entire School of Juvenile Sheepshead found in the kelp forests of Carmel & Monterrey• Sub Tropical Fish like Marlin, Bluefin Tuna, Pygmy Killer Whales of Southern California

• Many of these sightings are consistent with 82-83 and 97-98 El Nino effects• Fisheries Management Scientists are concerned El Nino weather patterns may be a harbinger of the future of

fisheries given Climate Change is expected to produce:• Water Temperature Rise• Ocean Acidification• Rising Sea Levels

A map of recent interactions between humans and sea creatures in areas where they aren't normally found.Credit: Leaflet/Tiles © Esri — Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, TomTom, Intermap, iPC, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), and the GIS User Community

Ocean Acidification & Oysters

Ocean Acidification & Oysters

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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