SOURCE: Scottish Association for Marine Science
DATE: October 31, 2017
SNIP: Cod, herring and haddock may vanish from Scotland’s west coast waters by the turn of the century because of global warming.
Researchers at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), near Oban, have predicted that by 2100 commercially important species could migrate out from this ecosystem, most likely to colder waters further north, in response to rising sea temperatures.
The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, show that cod and herring off Scotland’s west coast are already nearing the edge of their temperature tolerance range.
“Our results showed that warmer climate could jeopardise sustainable fishery management: rising temperature showed strong negative impact on cold water species such as grey seals, cod, haddock and herring, which all declined by 2100 under the worst case climate warming scenario.
“Even under the best case climate change scenario, cod and herring stocks were predicted to collapse off Scotland’s west coast.”