gment wild stocks;- In coastal areas, integrate the management of fisheries with other uses of coastal zones;- Monitor health problems (e.g., red tides, ciguatera, cholera) that could increase under climate change and harm fish stocks and consumers.ActionNow that the documents are being distributed, it is time to turn to the action recommendations. For this Congress, I would argue for addressing only the first. I believe it is the most important. This recommendation, in bold above, seeks to build into resource management regimes the concept that fish abundances and distributions will change over time as a consequence of climate change and also that resource productivity and industrial capacity should be in balance. THIS APPROACH IS NEEDED NOW! Perhaps climate change awareness can serve as a vehicle to bring this essential message to the attention of political leaders and fishery managers. The natural variability in regional climate, that sometimes takes places over decades, represents greater (or as great) changes as will come with climate change. The only difference may be the permanance of the changes. If we can adapt our institutions to deal with climate change, we will have addressed the natural variability issues that plague many existing institutions and the industries they regulate.
30 Understanding Requires a Broad View Oceanwide Synchrony in Pacific Sardines and the North Pacific IndexHistorical catches in the sardine fisheries of Japan, California and Peru-Chile exhibit parallel patterns, possibly in response to global-scale changes in climate (modified from Kawasaki, 1992).Negative NPINegative NPI8007700Peru/Chile66005California Sardine Catch(Thousand Metric Tons)500California4Japan and Peru/Chile Sardine Catch(Million Metric Tons)40033002200Japan110019001910192019301940195019601970198019902000What comes first?Sources: U.S. GLOBEC, FAO North Pacific Index (Atmos. Pressure)
31 Where to get Information Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):NMFS Pacific Fisheries Env LabU.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP):UN Atlas of the Oceans:Primary ReferencesEverett, J.T., E. Okemwa, H.A. Regier, J.P. Troadec, A. Krovnin, and D. Lluch-Belda, 1995: Fisheries. In: The IPCC Second Assessment Report, Volume 2: Scientific-Technical Analyses of Impacts, Adaptations, and Mitigation of Climate Change (Watson, R.T., M.C. Zinyowera, and R.H. Moss (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, 31 pp.National Assessment Synthesis Team, 2001: Climate Change Impacts on the United States; The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change Foundation. US Global Change Research Program, WashingtonIPCC Working Group I, Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Document of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change