Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Marine Fisheries in the Arctic

This paper is to investigate how climate change affect fisheries resources and economic performance of fishing sector and coastal communities in the Arctic with a focus on Svalbard Fisheries Protection Zone. Climate change is projected to alter the productivity of our oceans, the distribution, abundance, composition, quality and quantity of marine fisheries resources. Many coastal communities in the Arctic have been intricately connected to marine fisheries economically, culturally and socially. Changes in the spatial distribution and relative abundance of commercially exploited and potentially valuable fish species are likely to change the dynamics of fishing activities and exploitation patterns. Using a Dynamic Bioclimate Envelope Model (DBEM), we project that a warming climate will likely increase overall species richness and abundance in the Arctic, resulting in increased catch potential. We then evaluate how these changes affect fishing sector and coastal communities through changes in revenues, profits, fishing cost, household income and employment opportunities in the fisheries sector. The results highlight the disparity in climate vulnerability in fisheries related food security and livelihood between different fishing sectors and areas