SPC scientist presents at the Infofish Tuna 2018 conference and exhibition, Thailand

Valerie Allain, Senior Fisheries Research Scientist (ecosystem and climate change) at Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) presented her research on  the impact of climate change on tuna resources at the Indofish Tuna 2018 conference, held in Bangkok, Thailand – 28-30 May 2018.

Tom Seaman and Matilde Mereghetti from Undercurrent News reported from the conference.

Allain said scientific models predict a decrease in tropical tuna biomasses in the Pacific as well as a shift of the biomasses of tropical tuna towards the east, and towards the south for albacore.

Climate change is going to have a strong impact at the national levels for coastal countries in the Pacific, Allain pointed out. The main driver of changes is the warming temperature, while ocean acidification is predicted to have a limited impact, according to Allain.

Models are being improved to upgrade the accuracy and confidence of the forecast for better management and adaptation. Models can be used to project the impact of fishing that remains the major external driver of the tuna population dynamics, Allain said.

Other talks from the Indofish Tuna 2018 conference are available on Undercurrent News.