AFMA’s climate change strategy

AFMA pursues the ecological component of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) by providing a robust framework to ensure current fishing activity is sustainable within marine ecosystems. Climate change is one of many stressors on the marine environment and by applying sustainable fishing practices AFMA may increase the adaptability of ecosystems to additional changes brought about by the effects of climate change.

Responding efficiently and cost-effectively to climate change requires that AFMA act consistently with national guidelines and use best available information and advice to inform its decision making. AFMA’s climate change response strategy takes into account the draft Climate Change Action Plan for Fisheries and Aquaculture and the South Eastern Australia Program: Adaption of fishing and aquaculture sectors and fisheries management to climate change in South Eastern Australia (SEAP). AFMA acts consistently with national guidelines and makes use of the best available information and advice to inform its decision making for climate change adaptation.

The draft Climate Change Action Plan for Fisheries and Aquaculture seeks to ensure the sustainability of fishing practices by identifying guiding principles, focus areas and strategies to ensure that Australia’s fishing industry can adapt to changes in ocean temperatures, properties, currents, and other impacts of climate change which may affect the distribution and productivity of fishing resources. It includes targeted research to determine the impacts of climate change on fisheries and measures to allow fishermen to adapt their fishing practices to potential threats and opportunities.

Outputs from the SEAP project are expected to address a range of actions outlined in the Action Plan and provide relevant guidance to AFMA on species vulnerability and appropriate fisheries management responses.

Noting that decisions on the Action Plan and SEAP are expected in coming months, AFMA intends delaying taking direct action now, instead AFMA’s preference is to develop a response strategy that takes into account the Action Plan and program of work to be funded through the SEAP. In developing a strategy it will be important to build on AFMA’s existing management systems that are well equipped to manage changes in species abundance.  Climate change effects are just one of a number of stressors that can impact on the distribution and abundance of species.

For more information please see the Department of Climate Change website and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) website.

In addition to the processes described above, during 2009 AFMA initiated a project to assess the possible impacts and effects of climate change on AFMA’s top thirty GVP species. Each species was to be categorised as high, medium or low risk in terms of its likely vulnerability to climate change. To date fourteen summary reports have been completed with each species ranked according to its likely vulnerability to climate change. Some of these outcomes have been fed into the SEAP. Given the high level of overlap with the SEAP this internal project has been put on hold as it is likely that SEAP risk assessments of 28 species: 21 wild capture and 7 aquaculture species will result in more comprehensive results.