Supporting climate-resilient fisheries through understanding climate change impacts and adaptation responses

摘要: Climate change is posing ongoing and new challenges to fisheries management in Alaska that require fisheries managers to be able to adapt and respond appropriately. In particular, the Bering Sea ecosystem supports a broad array of fisheries that are collectively considered by many to be well-managed and sustainable, but continued sustainability will likely depend to some extent on building further consideration of climate-related impacts into fisheries management. The Bering Sea is characterized by a strong connection between the marine system, coastal communities and regional fisheries that support the region’s cultures, food security and well-being. Subsistence and commercial capture fisheries in the Bering Sea support economic vitality, social prosperity and food security both within and outside of Alaska and will be an essential contributor to sustainable and affordable nutrition for the future global population of 9 billion people (2050 UN estimate; Dumas, 1984; Fall et al., 2013; Haynie and Huntington, 2016; Raymond-Yakoubian et al., 2017; Meredith et al., 2019). Coastal communities in the Bering Sea are inextricably connected to their marine ecosystems, and subsistence fisheries and harvests have been critical for the collective well-being and stability of Alaskan communities since time immemorial. For decades, Bering Sea fisheries have sustainably supported the largest and most valuable US fisheries, and are important for national and global nutrition and food security. One out of every two fish captured annually in the US comes from Alaska, and regional fisheries support a> $5 billion USD fishing industry (2018), nearly half of …