Climate change will slash aboriginal fishing catches by as much as about 50 per cent by 2050 as marine species move farther north along the B.C. coast in search of cooler waters, a new study concludes.
Published on Wednesday in the online journal PLOS ONE, the study of 98 species of fish and invertebrates utilized by 16 First Nations communities along the coast suggests that the average catch will drop by 4.5 to 11 per cent at a loss conservatively estimated at $6.7 million to $12 million annually in commercial fisheries values alone.
The ranges are based on low-and-high greenhouse-gas-emission scenarios calculated by the International Panel on Climate Change.
Catches of salmon — one of the foundations of aboriginal culture —are projected to decline by 17 to 29 per cent and their herring prey by 28 to 49 per cent as marine life moves northward at an average rate of about 10 to 18 kilometres per decade.
First Nations located in southern B.C. waters will suffer the greatest catch declines: 15 to 27 per cent for the Tsawwassen First Nation, 7.9 to 8.2 per cent for the Namgis on northern Vancouver Island, and four to five per cent for the Tsimshian of the north coast in the Prince Rupert area.
Larry Pynn – Vancouver Sun – January 13, 2016.
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