Report | June 7, 2022

BRIEFING: Fisheries and the Climate Crisis

The greatest threat to the planet is also impacting the ocean

The climate crisis is affecting the ocean in many ways, including warming waters and ocean acidification, and its impacts are expected to intensify in the coming years and decades. These changes to the marine environment weaken the ability of the ocean to perform critical ecosystem functions, putting food production, carbon storage, climate regulation and oxygen generation at risk, and exacerbating the current environmental crises.

Human-induced climate change and biodiversity loss are existential threats to the marine environment and to coastal communities. Overfishing and destructive fishing have been the main drivers of marine biodiversity loss for the last 40 years, and they also critically undermine the resilience of fish, seabirds, marine mammals, and other wildlife to the impacts of global heating.