The Impacts of Climate Change on Fish and Fishing Communities in the United States: the Findings of the U.S. Global Change Research Program

Inland and coastal fish populations throughout the United States provide critical resources including food from fishing and aquaculture, economic benefits from tourism, and the cultural identity of coastal communities. Highly productive aquatic ecosystems are sensitive to changing environmental conditions including shifts in temperature, ocean acidification, sea level, storm surge, flooding, and erosion. Increasing water temperatures and acidity contribute to harmful algal blooms (HABs), for example, which in turn can cause massive die-offs of fish and other animals. If seas rise according to projections, they will inundate coastal freshwater systems and permanently change coastal habitats. Increasing freshwater temperatures contribute to correspondingly lower oxygen levels and potential reductions in the growth of foundational phytoplankton and zooplankton. These changes and others pose potential adverse effects to American food security, human health, economies, and cultural heritage. While the impacts of warming and other factors on fish stocks are becoming more severe, there has also been progress in adapting fisheries management to a changing climate.

This poster will synthesize information from a suite of reports published by the U.S. Global Change Research Program: the Fourth National Climate Assessment (2018), the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (2018), the Climate Science Special Report (2017), the Climate and Health Assessment [(2016), and Climate Change, Global Food Security, and the U.S. Food System (2015). The poster will focus on these findings in four overarching categories: (1) the societal importance of fish, (2) climate-related risks to fish populations, (3) the socioeconomic implications of these risks, and (4) actions being taken to reduce risk.