(New England, Thursday, April 13, 2023) – New England fishermen are feeling the impacts of climate change. As the ocean warms, fish populations are moving north, and fishing jobs are down 16% across the region.

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is working with partners and fishermen on solutions to help fisheries and the communities that rely on them become more climate-resilient.

Chris Free, a fishery research scientist at the University of California-Santa Barbara, worked with EDF to study the management rules for 500 U.S. fisheries, and developed recommendations that will help build climate-resilience.

SOUNDBITE #1:

THERE’S NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL SOLUTION FOR CREATING CLIMATE-RESILIENT FISHERIES, BUT THERE ARE THINGS WE CAN DO NOW THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE SHORT AND LONG TERM. THAT’S WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN OUR PAPER ARE ABOUT.

Chris Brown is President of Seafood Harvesters of America and a commercial fisherman in Rhode Island.

SOUNDBITE #2:

WE’RE ALREADY SEEING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE OUT HERE ON THE WATER EVERY DAY – WE’RE THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE. BLACK SEA BASS AND FLUKE HAVE MOVED NORTH. WE ARE ALL DECK HANDS ON THE PLANET EARTH AND WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO MAKE THIS WORK.

For more information, visit fisherysolutionscenter.edf.org