A Bahamas bonefish (photo by Whitney Tilt)
Danylchuk, A.J., Griffin, L.P., Ahrens, R. et al. Cascading effects of climate change on recreational marine flats fishes and fisheries. Environ Biol Fish (2022).
Tropical and subtropical coastal flats provide myriad ecological goods and services, including recreational fisheries focused on flats-inhabiting fishes such as bonefish, tarpon, and permit. The cascading effects of climate change have the potential to negatively impact coastal flats around the globe and to reduce their ecological and economic value.
In this paper, the authors consider how the combined effects of climate change, including extremes in temperature and precipitation regimes, sea level rise, and changes in nutrient dynamics, are causing rapid and potentially permanent changes to the structure and function of tropical and subtropical flats ecosystems. The authors then apply the available science on recreationally targeted fishes to reveal how these changes can cascade through layers of biological organization—from individuals, to populations, to communities—and ultimately impact the coastal systems that depend on them.
The paper identifies critical gaps in knowledge related to the extent and severity of these effects, and how such gaps influence the effectiveness of conservation, management, policy, and grassroots stewardship efforts.