Clock, a CIM project, sheds light on how fisheries systems can adapt to the impacts of climate change on the distribution of marine species.

The Clock project was launched six years ago by the Centre for Marine Research (CIM in its Spanish initials), a member of the CIGUS Network. This initiative, led by Elena Ojea, which aims to provide solutions for the redistribution of fish stocks, has four key objectives: to understand the new challenges of climate change facing fishery management; to develop a new approach for fisheries within a socio-ecological framework (Adaptation Framework); to provide empirical evidence for potential solutions for the adaptation of fisheries; and to contribute to positioning fishery management adaptation as a priority on regional and international political agendas. Under the auspices of the European Research Council (ERC) project, the Future Oceans Lab research group at the University of Vigo’s Centre for Marine Research (CIM), led by Elena Ojea, has shed light on how current fishery management systems can successfully tackle shifting distribution caused by climate change, as well as the most effective adaptation measures that will ensure equitable and sustainable livelihoods for the long term. Clock not only provides a global perspective of climate impacts on fisheries but also a locally-based vision of the effect in specific socio-ecological fishery systems through three case studies: the Basque industrial tropical tuna fishery system and the artisanal fisheries of Galicia and Nayarit (Mexico).

“The results of our research have revealed that the redistribution of marine species due to climate change is already impacting key commercial species, creating greater social and economic vulnerabilities in developing countries and affecting both technical efficiency and the food supply,” explained Elena Ojea. A further finding was a geographical mismatch between critical areas of climate change impacts and reported adaptation responses. Based on the case studies, Clock’s new Adaptation Framework reveals that the fishing sector’s adaptation responses are determined by existing social adaptive capacities and the intensity of climate impacts. “We found that artisanal and industrial fisheries follow a common response pathway, from staying in the fishery, to transforming and exiting, which is largely explained by the level and organisational structure of the fishing system,” explained the CIM researcher.

Impacts with implications for food safety

The work carried out within the scope of this project, an initiative of the Centre for Marine Research (CIM), a CIGUS Network member, merges global fishing, climate and ecological data in order to understand the impact and adaptation solutions for small-scale fisheries. Further actions include an exhaustive comparison of various fields in order to design an innovative adaptation framework; the development of local and regional bioeconomic models in order to ensure the optimum management of spatial property rights systems, transboundary stocks and marine protected areas; and empirical case study approaches, based on methodologies such as stakeholder analysis and individual fishery surveys in order to comprehend adaptation responses and test the Adaptation Framework.

“On a global level, the impact of shifting fish stocks aggravates existing vulnerabilities: the greatest changes are linked to the most economically dependent species in the poorest countries. These impacts have implications for food safety and exacerbate global inequalities, as tropical countries that rely heavily on fisheries for their food supply face the most severe impacts,” explained Ojea, who went on to add that in these climate-critical regions, adaptive responses in small-scale fishing communities tend to be more transformative. On a local level, industrial fisheries in the Basque Country and artisanal fisheries in Galicia and Nayarit serve to further explore adaptation pathways. “Fishermen respond to climate change by following a pathway that ranges from staying in business, to adapting (changing species) and transforming their livelihoods (diversifying income away from fishing). Exiting the fishing industry is the principal and most impactful response to climate change for certain vulnerable groups,” Ojea stated.

Six years of specific achievements

The Clock project, an initiative of the research group at the CIM, a member of the CIGUS Network, has produced more than twenty peer-reviewed scientific publications over the years, as well as three international doctoral theses and participation in high-level policy reports.

In addition, the results of the case studies have been presented to fishing communities at more than a dozen workshops, where participants from fishing communities identified key solutions to achieve resilience to climate change and allow sustainable and just adaptation and transformation.