Preliminary Climate Change Peru Meeting Fields Proposal – Fishing Vessels as Climate Change Sentinels

November 23, 2014 – LIMA COP20 will meet on December 9, 2014 in Peru. Its goal to begin shaping the global agreement by nations, industry, financial institutions and NGOs to reduce carbon emissions. What gets discussed here will form the basis of a global treaty to be finalized in Paris next September.

Less than a week before the event, however, a preliminary meeting is planned to discuss the use of fishing vessels as scientific platforms to study and measure the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems. Sponsored by the national fisheries of Peru, Ecuador and Chile, with invitation to the major fishing nations and fleet owners, it is proposing development of a mega database to accurately assess wild fish stocks.

For example, Peru’s fleet of fishing vessels focused on catching Jack mackerel in a single season can collect data equivalent to sending out a total of 200 research cruises or ships to collect quality information. The picture these fishing fleets can provide biologists would be just-in-time. The data collected could help to catch potential tipping points for a fish species before it happens.

The knowledge of fish stocks collected by those who practice industrial fishing would be an important adjunct to research by biologists and climatologists. Fish stocks in the ocean are like the canary in the coal mine. They respond to warming and acidification and the changes can be immediately noted by those doing the fishing.

In light of changes to the ocean because of climate change a collapse of any one species has ramifications for many others in the food chain. To be able to collect data in situ from a vast number of sources means a better chance for developing a sustainable fishery for the future. After all, it’s not like people around the globe are going to stop eating fish.

For Peru and its coastal area, in the past one of the richest fisheries on the planet, there is evidence of change happening to offshore fish stocks. The anchovy fishery has recently seen periodic collapses very similar in nature to those experienced for Atlantic cod off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Similar collapses have happened to the Chilean jack mackeral, the Pacific bonito, the South Pacific hake, the Araucanian herring, the South American sardine, a wide range of invertebrates including lobster, shrimp, clams, and scallops, and a number of tuna species including the bluefin (quotas have been increased despite the objections of field biologists).

The cooperation of industry and science would be a welcome step in ensuring we have an accurate up-to-date picture of the health of the ocean and its biodiversity. The proposal if accepted by both academics and the fishing fleets cannot come soon enough.

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