Publication Date:
2012-10-13
Description:
Climate change presents an emerging challenge to the sustainable management of tuna fisheries, and robust information is essential to ensure future sustainability. Climate and harvest affect tuna stocks, populations of non-target, dependent species and the ecosystem. To provide relevant advice we need an improved understanding of oceanic ecosystems and better data to parameterise the models that forecast the impacts of climate change. Currently ocean-wide data collection in the Pacific Ocean is primarily restricted to oceanographic data. However, the fisheries observer programs that operate in the region offer an opportunity to collect the additional information on the mid and upper trophic levels of the ecosystem that is necessary to complement this physical data, including time-series of distribution, abundance, size, composition and biological information on target and non-target species and mid trophic level organisms. These observer programs are in their infancy, with limited temporal and spatial distribution but recent international and national policy decisions have been made to expand their coverage. We identify a number of actions to initiate this monitoring including: consolidating collaborations to ensure the use of best quality data; developing consistency between sub-regional observer programmes to ensure that they meet the objectives of ecosystem monitoring; interrogating of existing time series to determine the most appropriate spatial template for monitoring; and exploring existing ecosystem models to identify suitable indicators of ecosystem status and change. The information obtained should improve capacity to develop fisheries management policies that are resilient and can be adapted to climate change. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s10584-012-0598-y Authors Simon J. Nicol, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Valerie Allain, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Graham M. Pilling, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Jeff Polovina, National Marine Fisheries Service, 2570 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA Marta Coll, Institut de Ciències del Mar, Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain Johann Bell, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Paul Dalzell, Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council, 1164 Bishop Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA Peter Sharples, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Robert Olson, Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037-1508, USA Shane Griffiths, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park, QLD 4102, Australia Jeffrey M. Dambacher, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia Jock Young, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia Antony Lewis, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia John Hampton, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Jesus Jurado Molina, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Simon Hoyle, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Karine Briand, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Nic Bax, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia Patrick Lehodey, CLS, Space Oceanography Division, 8-10 rue Hermès, 31520 Ramonville, Saint-Agne, France Peter Williams, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia Journal Climatic Change Online ISSN 1573-1480 Print ISSN 0165-0009
Print ISSN:
0165-0009
Electronic ISSN:
1573-1480
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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