Abstracts

Climate Change Issues in Arctic Fisheries: Arctic char - A Key Northern Resource

Jim Reist¹, Michael Power, and Brian Dempson
¹Fisheries and Oceans Canada
reistj@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) is a widely distributed (~45oN-84oN in eastern North America), primarily arctic fish species supporting many northern subsistence, commercial and sports fisheries. Char occur as both lake-dwelling and sea-run life history types which are differentially sensitive to the direct and indirect effects of climate variability and change (CVC) - e.g., lake forms will integrate CVC effects from local terrestrial and freshwater aquatic environments whereas sea-run forms will additionally integrate effects upon local estuarine and nearshore marine environments. Although char have some inherent biological adaptive capacity to mitigate challenges from CVC projected for the next 100 years in Arctic Canada, that capacity is limited, and in many populations will be associated with cascading effects on life history characteristics and local fisheries. Direct CVC effects on the fisheries (e.g., access, timing, success, shifts in available resource base, etc.) will further exacerbate issues regarding resource use and create challenges for both users and managers. Thus, adaptation of human interests and expectations associated with potentially declining northern fisheries must begin soon, as these will become critical to the continued sustainable use of char populations as CVC increasingly affects the north. Failure to develop appropriate and timely adaptive responses to potential CVC impacts will increase the risks of declines in fish populations, will affect resource use, and will exacerbate conservation and recovery problems that are already affecting lake-dwelling char populations along the southern margins of distribution in eastern North America.

2005-04-05