Fish and fisheries play an important role in achieving food and nutrition security, apart from providing a source of income and livelihood to millions of people across the globe. In the last few decades, aquaculture has continued to significantly expand in terms of area and production, making it one of the fastest growing production sectors. However, the sustainability of this sector is at stake due to climate change and related issues. Climate change is anticipated to significantly affect several aspects, including ecosystems, overall productivity, society, and economies, increasing pressure on livelihoods and food supplies. In 2020, an estimated 58.5 million people were engaged in capture fisheries (65%) and aquaculture (35%) (FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. Rome, FAO, Towards Blue Transformation, 2022). Furthermore, most people directly and indirectly associated with the fisheries sector belong to the small and marginal category; consequently, the impact will be even more severe on them. Several observable changes have already been evident in recent times, which can be directly attributed to climate change, like drastic changes in weather conditions, increasing frequency of cloud bursts, changes in hydrological regimes, heavy wind and storms, increased incidence of flood and droughts, etc. These effects can consequently lead to changes in fish productivity, disease infestation, decline in production from inland and aquaculture systems, etc. The impact of climate change, especially on developing nations, will be predominantly more severe due to their constrained capabilities and restricted resources to address this pressing issue effectively. In the context of India, the nation exhibits a significant susceptibility to the impacts of climate change due to its pronounced physical exposure to climate-related disasters. Specifically, approximately 65% of the country is prone to drought, 12% is susceptible to flooding, and 8% is at risk of cyclones. Moreover, the Indian economy and population rely heavily on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, forests, tourism, and fisheries. Hence, it is imperative for long-term management strategies to include the possible ramifications of climate change and catastrophes on the livelihoods and companies associated with the economy. In this chapter, extreme events related to climate change, like, the occurrence of cyclones, rising sea levels, prolonged periods of drought, intrusion of saline water, flooding, alterations in precipitation patterns, and changes in ocean acidity as well as changes on aquaculture production and its implications on the sector’s sustainability, shall be discussed.

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Climate Change and Its Impact on Fisheries and Aquaculture

  • Jaspreet Singh,
  • Kamal Sarma

摘要

Fish and fisheries play an important role in achieving food and nutrition security, apart from providing a source of income and livelihood to millions of people across the globe. In the last few decades, aquaculture has continued to significantly expand in terms of area and production, making it one of the fastest growing production sectors. However, the sustainability of this sector is at stake due to climate change and related issues. Climate change is anticipated to significantly affect several aspects, including ecosystems, overall productivity, society, and economies, increasing pressure on livelihoods and food supplies. In 2020, an estimated 58.5 million people were engaged in capture fisheries (65%) and aquaculture (35%) (FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. Rome, FAO, Towards Blue Transformation, 2022). Furthermore, most people directly and indirectly associated with the fisheries sector belong to the small and marginal category; consequently, the impact will be even more severe on them. Several observable changes have already been evident in recent times, which can be directly attributed to climate change, like drastic changes in weather conditions, increasing frequency of cloud bursts, changes in hydrological regimes, heavy wind and storms, increased incidence of flood and droughts, etc. These effects can consequently lead to changes in fish productivity, disease infestation, decline in production from inland and aquaculture systems, etc. The impact of climate change, especially on developing nations, will be predominantly more severe due to their constrained capabilities and restricted resources to address this pressing issue effectively. In the context of India, the nation exhibits a significant susceptibility to the impacts of climate change due to its pronounced physical exposure to climate-related disasters. Specifically, approximately 65% of the country is prone to drought, 12% is susceptible to flooding, and 8% is at risk of cyclones. Moreover, the Indian economy and population rely heavily on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, forests, tourism, and fisheries. Hence, it is imperative for long-term management strategies to include the possible ramifications of climate change and catastrophes on the livelihoods and companies associated with the economy. In this chapter, extreme events related to climate change, like, the occurrence of cyclones, rising sea levels, prolonged periods of drought, intrusion of saline water, flooding, alterations in precipitation patterns, and changes in ocean acidity as well as changes on aquaculture production and its implications on the sector’s sustainability, shall be discussed.