How ocean fish stocks are affected by global warming
The greenhouse effect, or global warming as we more commonly call it, happens when the sun’s radiation is reflected from the earth’s surface and gets trapped in our atmosphere by the greenhouse gases which are present.
Though we do have a plentiful supply of those gases naturally, mankind has fed the supply with the burning of fossil fuels and carbon emissions. There are many ways to describe what’s happening now that global warming is taking place. Some equate its effects to the commonly coined butterfly-effect, where a butterfly flaps its wings in Japan, and a train is derailed in Minnesota.
The polar ice caps melt and cause the water levels to heat up and rise. This phenomenon is known as thermal expansion. The warmer water which is expanding is wiping out coastlines all over the world. And that’s just the start. Economies and ecosystems will also diminish as a result and leave both marine life and human beings in dire straights if the problem goes uncorrected.
While someone in the middle of America may not think global warming is an actual threat, someone who lives on the coastline around the great coral reefs would beg to differ.
One major problem that global warming is having right now is the decreasing fish stocks throughout the ocean.
Global warming has changed everything from the distribution, overall abundance, and even the behavior of important fish stocks. And while people in the southern region of our planet may be unaware of this taking place, the northern latitude is experiencing this problem at a fast rate. In just the past few years, fishermen and researchers alike have reported that Bering Sea boats are forced to search father north for fish like Pollock and other sea-life like snow crab stocks. They need colder water to survive, so they must go further into the sea.
The Arctic and North Pacific oceans are especially vulnerable to the effects of global warming. Cold water absorbs carbon dioxide from fossil fuels much more readily, causing them to warm up.
Even one single degree which is changed irreversibly can upset the balance for an entire ecosystem. Unable to take any sort of scientific action to reverse global warming, Alaska fishery managers have been prompted to expand protection for the waters, even before the problems arise.
In Indonesia, millions of people will lose their livelihood due to the dwindling supply of fish stocks. A report quoted a study by a local research institute which states that Indonesia had lost 300-thousand tons of crop production every year from 1992 to 2000. This is three times the loss of any previous decade.
The world’s climate change and warmer waters also hurts the diverse fish stocks which feed around areas of coral reef. Carbon emissions are devastating coral reefs, causing all biodiversity to be shattered. Decreasing fish stocks also force larger fish to seek deeper waters, following their food chain. Global warming is causing many millions of people to sink deeper into the already poverty-stricken state.
Tags: fish stocks, global warming, oceans, radiation, sun
