SEATTLE (Saving Seafood) — June 7, 2017 — Conference sessions on climate change generally include lots of tables and figures illustrating projected changes in greenhouse gas emissions, ocean temperatures, ocean pH, etc. under a range of scenarios. But while projections were discussed at Monday’s session on climate change at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit, “Adaptation and Infrastructure: Fisheries and Aquaculture in a Changing Climate,” the panel emphasized the reality that we are already seeing marine ecosystem changes, and that these changes can only be expected to become more severe. In different ways, each of the four speakers began with this premise, and discussed strategies for adaptation.

Two of the speakers, John Norgren of the Climate Resilience Foundation and Lara Hansen of EcoAdapt, spoke directly to the strategic challenges posed by climate change. Mr. Norgren discussed the process of initiating and maintaining change; the need to be intentional and holistic; and the importance of considering human dimensions and responses, both to change itself and to actions intended to address climate change. He highlighted issues such as changing baselines (when the past is a poor predictor of the future), the importance of monitoring and adjusting approaches, and the value of online resources.

While similarly concerned with strategy, Ms. Hansen focused on the marine sectors and fisheries. She spoke about adaptation strategies, changes in distribution and abundance of fish stocks, and concerns about future access to ports and processing facilities. She drew the audience’s attention to work by NOAA and other agencies on the vulnerability of marine populations and coastal communities to climate change. Ms. Hansen emphasized the importance of building capacity, addressing broad policy challenges, establishing priorities for conservation and natural resource management, and the necessity of fully recognizing infrastructure needs in the planning process. She shared a positive outlook on processes already underway as well as future opportunities, and recommended two important online sources: The State of Climate Adaptation in U.S. Marine Fisheries Management and the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange.

Bob Young of the Center for Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University spoke about failures by the U.S. government to rebuild and protect eroding shorelines. With sea level rise and increasing storm activity, shoreline erosion will only increase. Across the U.S., but especially along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico, erosion and retreat of shoreline has been addressed through beach nourishment, which moves large quantities of sand from offshore to replace sand lost at the shoreline. This destroys benthic habitat. Furthermore, rebuilding coastal infrastructure following major storms precludes any possibility of allowing marsh and wetland development inshore of the current coastline, as would occur naturally. Ultimately, important nursery areas for marine stocks are lost, and coastal fish stocks and fisheries are harmed. Mr. Young emphasized the need for greater understanding and awareness of this process, which is greatly exacerbated by climate change.

Joseph Gellins of the Port of Seattle spoke about the Port’s strategies and actions to address climate change. He described the engineering and hydrological challenges associated with increased storm surges and sea-level rise and how this is taken into account in daily operations and future planning. He discussed the importance of tracking how other Pacific Rim ports, many of which are trading partners, adapt to the impacts of climate change, since changes to these ports could directly impact operational demands on the Port of Seattle itself. He also mentioned the importance of Seattle as a home port for many Alaskan fishing fleets, although one member of the audience pointed out that many of these vessels dock at Fishermen’s Terminal, which is protected from seal level change by the sea locks between Puget Sound and Lake Union.

Even though the audience for the climate change session was small, an energetic discussion followed. The conversation addressed topics like the impact of climate change on fish stocks and ecosystem dynamics, including the potential consequence of reduced catch levels due to reduced productivity and increased uncertainty. An audience member also raised, and the panel discussed, the impact of shifting distributions on regional fisheries, and the associated need to adjust regional and fleet allocations of harvested stocks.