Climate change will mean way less sushi—and way more jellyfish

[n2doc]

To anyone on land, climate change can seem subtle. The sea, however, is changing alarmingly. The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—the second of three reports on the impacts of global warming—offers the scary forecast that the hotter the planet, the higher the risk of ”abrupt and irreversible changes” (pdf, p.13) to ecosystems.
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We’ve already tipped past some of those ”tipping points” in the oceans, though. By the middle of the century, global warming will have thoroughly reshuffled marine ecosystems (pdf, p.16). That will leave some areas with more sea life to catch, but will thin out the marine populations in more temperate climes. The complex interplay of these and other factors will invite the invasion of a few marine species, driving others to new, less hospitable habitats—and even extinction.
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Fish don’t like it hot

Since fish are lousy at adapting to hotter water, they simply move to where it’s cooler. This, says the IPCC report, will hurt commercial fishing in a big way. Fishing populations in the equatorial areas disappear, pushing more fish and marine invertebrates toward the poles. That means fishing fleets will have to travel farther, driving up costs. And some species won’t survive these strange new habitats.
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The red and yellow areas in the map below show where fish catches will decrease the most. Many of these are close to shore, where commercially valuable species tend to congregate because food is more plentiful. There are lots of blue areas where fish populations are predicted to increase, but they’re smaller to begin with. The IPCC is vague on whether this will reduce the total global fish supply, but catching those fish will certainly be harder.


​This chart projects global redistribution of around 1,000 commercial fish and invertebrate species and its impact on annual catch weight.Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

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http://qz.com/194036/climate-change-will-mean-way-less-sushi-and-way-more-jellyfish/

[longship]

1. Well, as long as there's still peanut butter and bread too.

We can all eat peanut butter and sea jelly sandwiches, if the owner of the patent will let us -- I always close my blinds before I make and consume a PB&J, just in case. One can't be too careful about these things.

Seriously, one of the podcasts I regularly listen to, IIRC the Science Show from Radio National in Australia, had a segment on this a few months ago. The oceanographer interviewed said (in effect), "I hope people like eating sea jellies."

[NightWatcher]

2. Off to Fuji Sushi to get it while it lasts!!!

Hey, can I borrow a few hundred? That stuff gets pricey.



All kidding aside, a few years ago I was in the Gulf near Mobile and saw way more cannonballs and other jellies that I've ever seen. Miles of them all over the place.

[shanti]

3. Jellyfish, yummy!

There's a guy in Japan who's trying to push jellys as the next big food source, because it's becoming so predominant there. Not too many buyers tho...