Article Category: Climate Change

Scientists collaborate with stakeholders to evaluate scenarios that predict changes in the distribution and abundance of commercially important fish and shellfish due to climate change. Seafood is a vitally important source of protein. Worldwide, more than three billion people rely on seafood as a significant part of their diets. The amount that we can sustainably fish and farm is based on historical catches and trends that have been monitored for decades. We need to understand their breeding cycles and growth rates, along with cyclical patterns of ocean currents and climate—and the ecosystems they live in. This allows us to build models that inform sustainable management strategies for harvesting seafood. However, climate change continues to disrupt long-standing expectations, strate...

The Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have announced plans to allocate more millions to address how climate change affects Pacific salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River. This $60 million investment from the Inflation Reduction Act would also play a role in addressing deferred maintenance and repairs at Mitchell Act-funded hatchery facilities across the Columbia River Basin, the Biden administration said March 22. The funds were first announced in June 2023 as one component of the historic $3.3 billion in investments focused on ensuring the nation’s communities and economies are ready for and resilient to climate change. Of that $3.3 billion, $240 million goes to support Pacific coastal salmon restoration and recovery through inv...