Several studies have documented fish populations changing in response to long-term warming. Over the past decade, sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Maine increased faster than 99% of the global ocean. The warming, which was related to a northward shift in the Gulf Stream and to changes in the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation, led to reduced recruitment and increased mortality in the region's Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stock. Failure to recognize the impact of warming on cod contributed to overfishing. Recovery of this fishery depends on sound management, but the size of the stock depends on future temperature conditions. The experience in the Gulf of Maine highlights the need to incorporate environmental factors into resource management.
Managing natural resources in an era of increasing climate impacts requires accounting for the synergistic effects of climate, ecosystem changes, and harvesting on resource productivity. Coincident with recent exceptional warming of the northwest Atlantic Ocean and removal of large predatory fish, the American lobster has become the most valuable fishery resource in North America. Using a model that links ocean temperature, predator density, and fishing to population productivity, we show that harvester-driven conservation efforts to protect large lobsters prepared the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery to capitalize on favorable ecosystem conditions, resulting in the record-breaking landings recently observed in the region. In contrast, in the warmer southern New England region, the absence of similar conservation efforts precipitated warming-induced recruitment failure that led to the collapse of the fishery. Population projections under expected warming suggest that the American lobster fishery is vulnerable to future temperature increases, but continued efforts to preserve the stock's reproductive potential can dampen the negative impacts of warming. This study demonstrates that, even though global climate change is severely impacting marine ecosystems, widely adopted, proactive conservation measures can increase the resilience of commercial fisheries to climate change.
Characterizing migratory behaviours contributes to the sustainable management of marine fishes by resolving stock structure and identifying the timing and locations of events within fish life cycles. The migratory behaviour of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL), Canada was characterized over an annual cycle using pop-up satellite archival tags (n = 15). Daily probability density functions of individual halibut positions were estimated using a geolocation model specifically developed to track demersal fish species in the GSL. Reconstructed migration routes (n = 8) revealed that Atlantic halibut displayed seasonal migrations, moving from deeper offshore waters in the winter to shallower nearshore waters in the summer. Variability in migratory behaviours was observed among individuals tagged at the same location and time. One individual resided year round in the vicinity of the tagging site, three individuals displayed homing behaviour, and four individuals did not return to the tagging site. The identification of presumed spawning rises for two individuals suggested that spawning of Atlantic halibut occurred in the GSL. Although based on a limited number of individuals, these results suggest that Atlantic halibut in the GSL forms a philopatric population, supporting the current separate management of this stock from the adjacent Scotian Shelf and southern Grand Banks stock.
Knowledge of movement ecology, habitat use, and spatiotemporal distribution is critical to inform sustainable fisheries management and conservation. Atlantic halibut in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL) is of great economic value, although little is known about its spatiotemporal distribution, seasonal migrations, and spawning areas. To investigate these aspects, 114 pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) were deployed on halibut from 2013 up to 2018 throughout the GSL. A total of 62 physically recovered PSATs provided complete archived datasets with high temporal resolution. PSAT detachment locations revealed specific summer site fidelity. In contrast, the reconstruction of movement tracks with a geolocation model revealed that all fish converged to the Gulf’s deep channels to overwinter and spawn. This suggests strong mixing during the spawning period and thus one reproductive population within the GSL. These findings illustrate the utility of large-scale PSAT tagging combined with dedicated PSAT-recovery surveys to reveal critical stock-scale information on movements and spawning locations. This information addresses important gaps in the movement ecology of this halibut stock, revealing that reported summer site fidelity, based on years of conventional tagging, also conceals important winter mixing that is only apparent through analyses of movement on the time scale of annual cycles.
There is substantial and unexplored potential for scientists to engage with the private sector for a sustainable ocean. The importance of such cooperation is a frequent emphasis of international dialogues and statements, it is embedded within the Sustainable Development Goals, and has been championed by prominent business leaders and scientists. But an uncritical embrace of science-industry collaboration is unhelpful, and candid reflections on the benefits and pitfalls that marine scientists can expect from actively engaging with the private sector are rare. In this Perspective, we draw on our collective experiences working with ocean industries in different parts of the world to reflect on how this has influenced our work, the effects these collaborations have generated, and the barriers to overcome for such partnerships to become more common. In doing so, we hope to help empower a new generation of marine scientists to explore collaboration with industry as a way to develop and scale up solutions for ocean sustainability.
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