The Consequences of Climate Change in Coastal Environments on the Sustainability of Commercial Fisheries – (Ph.D.)

This project is funded by the Scottish Government’s new Centre of Expertise on Climate Change (CoECC) and supported by the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS).

SummaryCommercially important fisheries for invertebrates such as Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) and scallops (Pecten maximus) take place in coastal waters. Coastal environments are also important nursery habitat for fish that are eventually caught offshore. Notable species known to use coastal habitats include west coast stocks of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and whiting (Merlangius merlangus).

Climate change in coastal environments has the potential to affect both of these categories of fishery. Direct impacts are likely through changes in habitat due to altered rainfall and storminess while indirect impacts may occur through the displacement of fishing effort away from offshore whitefish and towards coastal environments if changes in water temperature alter whitefish distribution. This latter driver is likely to be exacerbated by future increases in the cost of fuel and will have serious implications for the management of effort in coastal fisheries
The proposed project will investigate the current role of coastal habitats for commercially important species through existing data and new surveys (research vessel and SCUBA). Lessons from overseas fisheries will be used where appropriate where the state of knowledge is better developed. Population modelling will be used to determine how important coastal environments are, to what extent the carrying capacity of nursery habitats affects the size of offshore stocks, and how climate change might affect this capacity.
The project will explore the ecological, socio-economic and political consequences of potential climate change impacts and the measures required to mitigate them. For instance, while closing inshore areas might enhance recruitment to the offshore Atlantic cod stock it could have a direct impact on coastal fisheries. Balancing the effects of such policies is complex as coastal communities might be highly dependent on small fishing operations, while the benefits of fishing offshore might be more widely dispersed. There are many such issues to explore and these require a multi-disciplinary approach using biological, modelling and socio-economic expertise.

Research EnvironmentYou will be registered and primarily based at University at Glasgow, but spend significant amounts of time with the population modelling group at the University of Strathclyde and in the coastal management team at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen. As well as the supervisors you will be engaged with the

The Centre of Expertise in Climate Change is a multi-million pound initiative intended to result in a world class grouping of scientists who can provide advice and evidence to support Scottish Government work on climate change adaptation and mitigation.