Climate 101 — TOMORROW'S FISH

Why Climate Change Matters

to Fish, Anglers, & the Fly Fishing Industry

The path to effectively addressing the adverse impacts of climate change begins with gaining a personal understanding of the science and issues behind climate change. Tomorrow’s Fish and the information that follows is built on a simple, but core, set of foundational tenets:

Climate change is real (not “fake news”), and humans are the main culprit.

Misinformation over climate change has successfully raised doubts among the public and delayed meaningful action.

97+ percent of actively publishing climate scientists agree that “climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities,” but only 57 percent of the public polled understand this unanimity of the scientific community. This consensus gap of 40 percent is significant because research shows that people are more likely to support policy actions to address climate change if they are aware of the overwhelming agreement among experts.
For the most part, meaningful policy to address and adapt to climate change is lacking, at the international, national, regional, and local levels.

Roughly half of Americans (53%) say it’s unlikely that countries around the world, including the U.S., will collectively do enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change (PEW). Without greater engagement and advocacy, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As anglers, and opinion-makers, we need to move from reactive to proactive responses – To undertake constructive and realistic actions that can be taken at all levels of society— locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.

from ocean To mountain top

The following provides an overview of climate change and its impacts on our natural resources— mountain top to deep ocean. We also provide links to primary and secondary sources to explore more fully.

The Fourth National Climate Assessment (2018) provides a clear-eyed examination of climate change and its impacts on society and the environment. Among its summary findings:

Climate change creates new risks and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in communities across the United States, presenting growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth.
Without substantial and sustained global mitigation and regional adaptation efforts, climate change is expected to cause growing losses to American infrastructure and property and impede the rate of economic growth over this century.
The quality and quantity of water available for use by people and ecosystems across the country are being affected by climate change, increasing risks and costs to agriculture, energy production, industry, recreation, and the environment.Description text goes here
Ecosystems and the benefits they provide to society are being altered by climate change, and these impacts are projected to continue. Without substantial and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, transformative impacts on some ecosystems will occur; some coral reef and sea ice ecosystems are already experiencing such transformational changes.Item description
Our Nation’s aging and deteriorating infrastructure is further stressed by increases in heavy precipitation events, coastal flooding, heat, wildfires, and other extreme events, as well as changes to average precipitation and temperature. Without adaptation, climate change will continue to degrade infrastructure performance over the rest of the century, with the potential for cascading impacts that threaten our economy, national security, essential services, and health and well-being.m description
Coastal communities and the ecosystems that support them are increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change. Without significant reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions and regional adaptation measures, many coastal regions will be transformed by the latter part of this century, with impacts affecting other regions and sectors. Even in a future with lower greenhouse gas emissions, many communities are expected to suffer financial impacts as chronic high-tide flooding leads to higher costs and lower property values.
Outdoor recreation, tourist economies, and quality of life are reliant on benefits provided by our natural environment that will be degraded by the impacts of climate change in many ways.

Climate Impacts ARE HERE Now!

Some believe that climate change won’t have an impact for years to come. Sadly as the work of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership points out, this is not the case. TRCP has compiled a guide illustrating 10 ways that climate change is already affecting our fishing and hunting. (download at the link below). They include:

Weird or variable weather
Drought
Higher water temperatures
Natural disasters
Frequency of wild fires
Shifting migrations
Forced fish movement

TRCP also presents the compelling case for Nature Based Solutions, outlining how anglers and hunters are stand up for solutions help address and mitigate climate impacts and keep habitat working for fish and wildlife.

Healthy habitats absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere, where it would otherwise contribute to global warming. Natural climate solutions—those that use the power of habitat—also lessen the impacts of climate change by reducing erosion, preventing wildfires, enhancing soil health, protecting against drought and flooding, cooling stream temperatures, strengthening coastlines, and improving the quality and availability of clean water.

Nature Based Solutions

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AT RISK

The resources and services that people depend on for their livelihoods, sustenance, protection, and well-being are jeopardized by the impacts of climate change on ecosystems. Fundamental changes in agricultural and fisheries production, the supply of clean water, protection from extreme events, and culturally valuable resources are occurring.

Climate and non-climate stressors interact synergistically on biological diversity, ecosystems, and the services they provide for human well-being. The impact of these stressors can be reduced through the ability of organisms to adapt to changes in their environment, as well as through adaptive management of the resources upon which humans depend. Biodiversity, ecosystems, ecosystem services, and human well-being are interconnected: biodiversity underpins ecosystems, which in turn provide ecosystem services; these services contribute to human well-being. Ecosystem structure and function can also influence the biodiversity in a given area. The use of ecosystem services by humans, and therefore the well-being humans derive from these services, can have feedback effects on ecosystem services, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Sources: NOAA, USGS, and DOI.

COASTAL ECONOMIES AND PROPERTY ARE ALREADY AT RISK

America’s trillion-dollar coastal property market and public infrastructure are threatened by the ongoing increase in the frequency, depth, and extent of tidal flooding due to sea level rise, with cascading impacts on the larger economy. Higher storm surges due to rising sea levels and the increased probability of heavy precipitation exacerbate the risk. Under a higher scenario (RCP8.5), many coastal communities will be transformed by the latter part of this century, and even under lower scenarios (RCP4.5 or RCP2.6), many individuals and communities will suffer financial impacts as chronic high tide flooding leads to higher costs and lower property values. Actions to plan for and adapt to more frequent, widespread, and severe coastal flooding would decrease direct losses and cascading economic impacts.

OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS

The Nation’s valuable ocean ecosystems are being disrupted by increasing global temperatures through the loss of iconic and highly valued habitats and changes in species composition and food web structure. Ecosystem disruption will intensify as ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and other aspects of climate change increase. In the absence of significant reductions in carbon emissions, transformative impacts on ocean ecosystems cannot be avoided.

MARINE FISHERIES

Marine fisheries and fishing communities are at high risk from climate-driven changes in fishery-related species' distribution, timing, and productivity. Ocean warming, acidification, and deoxygenation are projected to increase these changes in fishery-related species, reduce catches in some areas, and challenge the effective management of marine fisheries and protected species. Fisheries management that incorporates climate knowledge can help reduce impacts, promote resilience, and increase the value of marine resources in the face of changing ocean conditions.