SEAFOODNEWS.COM [First Post] By Dinesh C Sharma — December 22, 2015 — Even as the world tries to make sense of decisions taken at the recent climate change conference in Paris, scientists have come up with fresh evidence of how global warming is beginning to nibble the food chain right in India’s neighbourhood – the Indian Ocean.

Oceans play a critical role in both short and long term weather and climatic patterns. Nearly 90 percent of extra heat generated due to emission of greenhouse gases from the landmass is absorbed by oceans, warming them up. Indian Ocean, considered one of the most productive seas, has seen warming greater than other oceans. The warming in Indian Ocean during the past century has been estimated up to 1.2 degree C, which is very large compared to a global surface warming of up to 0.8 degree C during the same period.

Now an international study led by scientists from Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has shown that the warming of Indian Ocean is affecting productivity of its marine eco system. Simply put, the food web necessary for fish production in the seas is getting affected due to the warming. This, in turn, is resulting in dwindling fish catch rates in the Indian Ocean.

The decline in phytoplankton- microscopic plants that are part of the aquatic food web – is significant. Phytoplankton contains chlorophyll and provides food for a range of sea creatures including fish. The rapid warming in the Indian Ocean has played an important role in reducing the phytoplankton up to 20 percent during the past six decades, the study has reported.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.