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New Climate, Who Dis?

Due to climate change, sea surface temperatures are increasing, thus resulting in less cold nutrient rich waters that feed fish and higher trophic levels. This leaves many fish to seek cooler waters by moving towards the poles or living in deeper waters. However, not all fish have this option as there may not be a possibility for them to travel poleward or deeper due to different habitats and competition with other creatures in the environment. Some animals, like the crystal jellyfish are better at living on less nutrients and in warmer waters, leading them to become more dominant in a warmer world.

Citations:

Brodeur, R. D., Mills, C. E., Overland, J. E., Walters, G. E., & Schumacher, J. D. (1999). Evidence for a substantial increase in gelatinous zooplankton in the Bering Sea, with possible links to climate change. Fisheries Oceanography, 8(4), 296–306. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2419.1999.00115.x

Petrik, C. (2026c). Lecture 17: Deep Sea Fisheries [PowerPoint slides]. University of  California, San Diego, SIO 137. Canvas@UCSD. https://canvas.ucsd.edu

The Perfect Spot

Unlike sharks, a majority of fish, like eels, perform external fertilization and do not need to provide care for their young. Instead they migrate to specific locations at a specific time where ocean currents and other physical features allow for their larvae to be nurtured in the nursery areas and be further dispersed. This is called the larval retention area hypothesis, and is supposed to aid the survival of young larvae until maturity. However, due to climate change, these special currents and areas are changing and may no longer be an effective place for spawning.

Citations:

Petrik, C. (2026a). Lecture 6: Adults Spawning Part 2 [PowerPoint slides]. University of California, San Diego, SIO 137. Canvas@UCSD. https://canvas.ucsd.edu

Fish Without Borders

Highly migratory species such as tuna travel beyond the jurisdiction of individual nations and can be fished in the high seas. Nations typically claim exclusive rights to marine resources such as fish that are 200 nautical miles from the nation’s coast in areas known as exclusive economic zones (EEZs). However, migratory fish don’t follow these boundaries and often cross into areas without any state jurisdiction like the high seas, or another nation’s EEZ. Regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) are organizations between nations that try to regulate a particular species of fish between their EEZs and in the high seas. However, illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing can still occur in these hard to enforce areas.

Citations:

Akia, S. A. V., Amande, M. J., & Gaertner, D. (2023). Towards “glocalised” management of tuna stocks based on causation between a stock and its component belonging temporally to local Exclusive Economic Zones. Aquatic Living Resources (Montrouge), 36, 23. https://doi.org/10.1051/alr/2023018

New Diet

Due to climate change, extreme conditions become more common such as the 2016 Pacific marine heatwave. Such changes in temperature impact the ecosystem by decreasing the amount of anchovies and fish, and resulting in increases in squid and rockfish. For predators like sea lions, these prey types are not sufficient in meeting their needs especially when producing milk for their pups. This results in decreases in pup weight as well as their chances of survival.

Citations:

Maniscalco, J. M. (2023). Changes in the overwintering diet of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in relation to the 2014 – 2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave. Global Ecology and Conservation, 43, Article e02427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02427

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