December 11, 2019 — A new study says “climate shocks” are reducing fish populations in the North Atlantic region, leading to fewer jobs and lower wages in New England’s fishing sector.
Fishing communities along the northeastern U.S. seaboard have long struggled with warming waters, dwindling fish stocks and rising unemployment.
The research published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is the first to directly link climate change with declining fishing jobs.
It found that climate fluctuations caused a 16 per cent drop in fisheries employment in New England from 1996 to 2017.
The findings suggest Atlantic Canada’s fisheries could also potentially experience increasing variability in fish stocks, revenue and employment due to climate change in the coming years.