In this paper, a team of researchers, led by Dr. Yunzhou Li, Stony Brook University, provide a comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability and risk of China's marine capture fisheries to climate change. The study integrates diverse sets of indicators including climatic, ecological, economic, societal, and governance information to illuminate what factors may hinder climate adaptation. Their results indicate that species which have managed to survive the stress of overfishing may be able to adapt more easily than others, while some stocks face high risk due to a combination of factors such as biological traits (e.g., vulnerable early life stages) and external management interventions (e.g., unequal allocation and accessibility of resources). These insights can help inform fisheries management decisions and promote the development and implementation of climate-resilient fisheries in China and other regions facing similar challenges.
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Li, Y., Sun, M., Yang, X., Yang, M., Kleisner, K.M., Mills, K.E., Tang, Y., Du, F., Qiu, Y., Ren, Y., Chen, Y. (2023) Social-ecological vulnerability and risk of China’s marine capture fisheries to climate change. PNAS. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.231377312