Climate change impacts on the atmospheric circulation, ocean, and fisheries in the southwest South Atlantic Ocean: a review

PIOLA, ALBERTO R.; ORTEGA, LEONARDO; VERA, CAROLINA; PEZZI, LUCIANO P.; DEFEO, OMAR; YANG, HU; CASTELLO, JORGE P.; PÁJARO, MARCELO; FRANCO, BÁRBARA C.; BARREIRO, MARCELO; GIANELLI, IGNACIO; BURATTI, CLAUDIO; MÖLLER, OSMAR O.

CLIMATIC CHANGE

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2020 vol. 162 p. 2359 - 2377

0165-0009

We present an interdisciplinary review of the observed and projected variations inatmospheric and oceanic circulation within the southwestern South Atlantic focused onbasin-scale processes driven by climate change, and their potential impact on the regionalfisheries. The observed patterns of atmospheric circulation anomalies are consistent withanthropogenic climate change. There is strong scientific evidence suggesting that theBrazil Current is intensifying and shifting southwards during the past decades in responseto changes in near-surface wind patterns, leading to intense ocean warming along the pathof the Brazil Current, the South Brazil Bight, and in the Río de la Plata. These changes arepresumably responsible for the poleward shift of commercially important pelagic speciesin the region and the long-term shift from cold-water to warm-water species in industrialfisheries of Uruguay. Scientific and traditional knowledge shows that climate change isalso affecting small-scale fisheries. Long-term records suggest that mass mortalitiesdecimated harvested clam populations along coastal ecosystems of the region, leading toprolonged shellfishery closures. More frequent and intense harmful algal blooms togetherwith unfavorable environmental conditions driven by climate change stressors affectcoastal shellfisheries, impact economic revenues, and damage the livelihood of localcommunities. We identify future modelling needs to reduce uncertainty in the expectedeffects of climate change on marine fisheries. However, the paucity of fisheries dataprevents a more effective assessment of the impact of climate change on fisheries andhampers the ability of governments and communities to adapt to these changes.