Social–ecological vulnerability and risk of China’s fisheries to climate change

What is it about?

China is the world’s largest fishing country and seafood producer, so understanding the resilience of the country’s fisheries to climate change is imperative. A US-China research team integrated ecological, social, climatic, and governance factors into a spatially-based risk assessment to explore the vulnerabilities of 67 fish species in 11 coastal regions. The resilience evaluation framework laid out in this paper provides a duplicable approach for global scientists to perform climate-resilient fisheries evaluation.

Featured Image

Photo by NOAA on Unsplash

Photo by NOAA on Unsplash

Why is it important?

We find intense fishing and other pressures over decades have selected for more climate resilient fishery species. However, less adaptive species – critical both socially and ecologically within China and beyond – are at risk. By linking ecological vulnerabilities to anthropogenic pressures, we reveal regional disparities in social vulnerability and common adaptation challenges across the country. Our study demonstrates the key ecological, social, and governance factors driving climate vulnerability and offers lessons that can help other regions identify targeted adaptation solutions to enhance fisheries resilience.