Standard Presentation (15 mins) Australian Marine Sciences Association 2022

Seafood availability and quality across pelagic and estuarine systems under climate change (#211)

Curtis Champion 1 , Alistair Hobday 2 , Melinda Coleman 1
  1. NSW FIsheries, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
  2. CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, Tasmania

Understanding the effects of climate change on seafood availability and quality is a priority for climate impact and adaptation research that intersects biological, economic and social spheres. The rapid climate-driven redistribution of fished species is altering their availability to marine resources uses, while the physiological impacts of climate change are affecting the nutritional and sensory qualities of seafood. We present impacts of climate change on the availability and quality of harvested species from pelagic to estuarine systems throughout eastern Australia and highlight their society implications. These include: 1. climate-driven changes to the availability and condition of available coastal-pelagic fishes to south-eastern Australian fisheries, and 2. impacts of estuarine climate change on the nutritional and sensory qualities of the widely harvested blue swimmer crab (Portunus armatus). Emerging societal implications of these impacts include altered access to fished resources, changes in the nutritional benefits that human consumers derive from seafood and shifts in seafood consumer appeal that may affect future harvesting priorities. We suggest that continued identification of emerging climate impacts on seafood is important for developing novel adaptation options that aim to capitalise on opportunities and minimise adverse impacts.