We use cookies on our website. Some are necessary for the operation of the website. You can also allow cookies for statistical purposes. You can adjust the data protection settings or agree to all cookies directly.
Data Protection Declaration
Imprint
Changes in fish distribution and species composition as a result of climatic changes in the East Greenland Ecosystem: implications for fisheries and management (CLIMA)
Project
Project code: TI-SF-08-PID1702
Contract period: 01.11.2015
- 31.12.2018
Purpose of research: Inventory & Assessment
The East Greenland ecosystem has been influenced by warming in the North Atlantic in recent years. As a consequence, there were distinct changes in the distribution and composition of the fish fauna in this area. The aim of this project is to investigate the functional relationships of climatic and biological changes and to estimate their impact on the fish stocks, fishing and fisheries management. As a region with adjoining cold and warm water masses, the East Greenland Ecosystem (EGrE) is one of the first to be affected by climatic changes. Several countries have been fishing in the EGrE for decades (e.g. Germany, Greenland, and Norway), primarily for Greenland halibut, cod and redfish. In recent years, new fisheries have been developed following shifts in fish species distribution, and including new and previously unexploited species entering the ecosystem. Predicted large scale hydrodynamic changes induced by changes in climate are expected to affect both vertical and horizontal distribution of fish and marine organisms. Information on the potential impacts of climate change on deep water fisheries is generally lacking, with additional effects of fishing being even more illusive. “CLIMA” will utilise a wide collection of survey data brought into the project by the partners, providing an outstanding basis for conducting focused studies on target species and their response to variability of climatic change parameters over time. Furthermore, the project will collect new data from ongoing surveys. Studies on potential changes in trophic relationships will give valuable information also on species at lower levels of the system’s food web. In order to make predictions on future food web components and dynamics, long-term analyses will include current as well as historical trophic data and long-term variability in fish abundance to be correlated with relevant climate parameters. This type of meta-data analysis has the potential to improve the baseline for future sustainable management, whilst addressing future challenges of migrating fish stocks (mobile fish stock management). Establishment of such a baseline will contribute to transparent and robust management to support fisheries, processing industries and export/marketing forces. Workpackages (WP): - WP1: WP1 Distribution of key species in the East Greenland ecosystem – Do distributions vary over time? - WP2: Climatic conditions and their variability since 1982 - WP3: Trophic relations: Prey items as indicators for changes in the environment and water masses - WP4: The marine ecosystem – Simulating and modeling - WP5: Linking marine fauna and climate: ecosystem robustness, management implications - WP6: Management implications of climatic changes in the marine environment - WP7: In depth studies on key species: Greenland halibut - WP8: Generic dissemination and reporting
Section overview
Subjects
- Marine fisheries
- Climate Change
