This policy brief by the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) addresses the adaptation of marine fisheries to the impacts of climate change within a regional framework covering the eight member states bordering the ROPME Sea Area, which is divided into three sub-regions: a shallow semi-enclosed inner zone, a transitional middle zone, and a deep outer zone.
Marine fisheries in the region represent a key economic sector, relying on a wide diversity of species such as demersal and pelagic fish, tuna, shrimp, and other commercially important stocks, alongside the growing aquaculture sector. However, these resources are increasingly under pressure from climate change, including rising sea temperatures, salinity changes, declining dissolved oxygen, altered ocean currents, increased frequency of storms, and sea level rise.
Studies indicate that the inner region is most vulnerable to warming and salinity increases, while the middle and outer regions are more affected by changes in currents, cyclonic activity, and oxygen depletion. Recurrent environmental phenomena such as fish mortality events, jellyfish blooms, and harmful algal blooms have also been observed, directly impacting fisheries and aquaculture operations.
These changes are leading to reduced fish diversity, declining commercial stocks, shifts in species distribution, and consequently lower fish production, with serious implications for food security and coastal livelihoods. Fisheries infrastructure and aquaculture facilities are also increasingly exposed to flooding, storms, and coastal erosion.
The brief proposes a range of adaptation measures, including sustainable fisheries management, early warning systems, improved environmental planning, enhanced monitoring technologies, aquaculture development, and livelihood diversification, as well as capacity building and fisher preparedness for extreme events. It further emphasizes ecosystem-based management, reduction of human pressures, and biodiversity enhancement as key elements of resilience.
The report concludes that strengthening fisheries adaptation requires coordinated regional cooperation, flexible policy frameworks, and the integration of scientific research and workshop outcomes, in line with member states’ commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change.
