Climate change and fisheries
An estuary perch
Australian marine and coastal environments are very likely to be impacted by the predicted effects of climate change. Changes to environmental variables, such as ocean temperatures, currents, winds, nutrient supply, rainfall, ocean chemistry and extreme weather conditions, are likely to impact on marine ecosystems. This means that Australian fisheries and aquaculture industries will very likely experience some changes.
The NSW aquaculture industry includes species of oyster, abalone, prawns, and fish such as silver perch and snapper. Our wild fisheries supply our seafood shops with species such as tuna, prawns, rock lobster, abalone and a host of other finfish and crustacean species. Some of the habitats which support this range of sea creatures by providing a food source or shelter include seagrass beds, mangrove systems, estuaries, algae/sponge habitats and intertidal rocky shore habitats. It is the changes to these habitats which will have the greatest impact on our fisheries and aquaculture industries.
From left: seagrass bed, mangroves, intertidal rocky shore.
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