Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture: synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation and mitigation options.
The fisheries and aquaculture sector supports the livelihoods of between 10 percent and 12 percent of the world’s population, and in the last five decades its production has significantly outpaced population growth. This Technical Paper is intended to update the Cochrane et al., eds. (2009) Technical Paper, and be of fundamental use to countries in their NDC development and implementation, including resource mobilization efforts. In this context it is significant to note that Article 9 of the Paris Climate Agreement stipulates that financial resources will be provided to assist developing country Parties with respect to their mitigation and adaptation obligations. Inland fisheries are addressed for all the major fish producers, it also includes coverage of eight major river basins which are discussed in detail in Chapter 19. Biodiversity reductions in sensitive areas, such as northern latitudinal basins, are also expected in freshwater ecosystems. Preparedness is indeed essential to translate changes into opportunities, while the opposite leads to maladaptation and unfulfilled prospects. Furthermore, the IPCC notes that adaptation is place- and context-specific, with no single approach for reducing risks being appropriate across all settings. Understanding the direction, speed, intensity and place of change is thus a prerequisite to effective adaptation. Three key chapters in this document refer specifically to inland fisheries:
Chapter 18: How climate change impacts inland fisheries
Chapter 19: Current anthropogenic stress and projected effect of climate change on global inland fisheries
Chapter 26: Options and opportunities for supporting inland fisheries to cope with climate change adaptation in other sectors